Anacelle Bautista, Challenge winner 2017, triumphs again winning prestigious INSEAD prize

Anacelle Bautista, Challenge winner 2017, triumphs again winning prestigious INSEAD prize

Anacelle Bautista won the 35th INSEAD Venture Competition in December for her sustainable business idea PeoplePods, which she had further perfected during the Nudge Global Impact Challenge last October. She is clearly very determined to make real impact in the Philippines, her home country.

She and Daniel Layug, her husband and business partner, took first place at INSEAD, winning €40,000 and development support to start up PeoplePods, their sustainable corporate solution providing innovative housing to thousands of low-income workers.

Anacelle and Daniel just after winning the INSEAD competition in Fontainebleau, France

A business solution to change lives

Anacelle explains how her idea came about: “I dream of addressing the housing needs of the poorest and most vulnerable, who reside in the slums and informal settlements. I dream of providing low-cost housing for factory workers. This trickles down to fighting poverty, improving health and creating employment. I dream of creating sustainable impact for those at the bottom of the pyramid through a scalable business model.

Together with my husband, this dream came about after observing the current working conditions in the Philippines. Our mission is to improve the lives of thousands of low-income workers by providing dignified and affordable housing in areas of high demand such as industrial parks and metropolitan cities.”

Anacelle Bautista at the Nudge Global Impact Challenge 2017, photo by Bibi Veth

What is PeoplePods?

Built using prefabrication methods, PeoplePods dormitories will provide tenants higher quality than traditional dormitories at lower prices. With PeoplePods, employees will get more take-home pay, peace of mind concerning safety, greater security, and a better quality of life due to lower tenant-density and better amenities. A pilot site is being planned.

All of us at Nudge can’t wait to see Anacelle’s dream become reality and the impact she will create in the coming years!