Filsatelles Geospatial Agri-tech Inc., is a Filipino corporation registered with the SEC of Philippines on 20th January 2020, by virtue of a MoU signed between Obra Palma Landholdings Group Philippines and SatSure Analytics Pvt.Ltd., and SatSure AG India on 19 October 2019, represented by Mr. Crisanto “Billy” Gualberto and Mr. Abhishek Raju, an Indian national and founding Managing Director of SatSure AG India, respectively in the presence of The President of India H.E. Ram Nath Kovind, Indian Ambassador to the Philippines H.E. Jaideep Mazumdar, Philippine Agriculture Secretary Hon. Dr. William D Dar, Philippine Trade Secretary Hon. Ramon Lopez, BARMM (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao ) Chief Minister Hon. Ahod Ebrahim, Al Haj, BARMM-MAFAR( Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Agrarian Reform) Minister Hon. Dr. Mohammad Shuaib Yacob, President of FICCI Philippines Mr. Rex Daryanani and Go Negosyo Chairman and Presidential advisor Joey Conception, leading Philippine banking and insurance industry captains, Philippine and Indian Government officials and large number of Filipino public.
Subsequently, by virtue of the same MoU, Farmers Bazaar Fintech Philippines Inc (“FBFP”) was registered as a Filipino corporation and affiliate of Filsatelles Geospatial Agritech Inc., with the SEC on 10th December, 2020(for developing projects in climate change and natural disaster management, BARMM/ Al-Amanah Islamic Bank of DBP Bank Philippines and IDF London project) in the presence of The Ambassador of India to the Philippines H.E. Shambhu Kumaran, Finance Secretary of Philippines Hon. Carlos Dominguez, Agriculture Secretary of Philippines Hon. Dr. William Dar and large number of Filipino students and academe at the “Philippine-India knowledge economy and startups cooperation event’ organized by The Batangas State University.
Following an official letter dated July 30, 2019 issued to the Filsatelles founders group by the Finance Secretary of Philippines Hon. Carlos Dominguez, in support of establishing a TWG(Technical Working Group) with the Embassy of India in the Philippines for agri-tech cooperation between Philippines and India, as envisioned by the President of Philippines H.E. Rodrigo Roa Duterte and Prime Minister of India Hon.Narendra Modi, and subsequent signing of aforesaid MOU dated 19 October 2019 in the presence of the H.E.President of India and formation of ‘Filsatelles Geospatial Agri-tech Inc’., Planters Products Inc., a Filipino corporation, under the DA(Department of Agriculture) of Philippines, provided a funding of Peso 5 Million to SatSure Analytics, a bootstrapped Indian agri-tech startup, to do a pilot project for DA-PhilRice and DA-PCIC(Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation) of Philippine Government.
The seeds and inspiration of founding the FBFP was originally planted by the Prime Minister of India Hon. Narendra Modi in the hearts and minds of Sir Crisanto “Billy” Gualberto and Dr. Benjamin Quinones Jr., two well-known Filipino agriculture experts and UPLB(University of Philippines Las Banos agricultural university) alumni, when they listened to the speech of the Prime Minister at the IRRI campus in Las Banos on November 13, 2017.
Inspired by the ‘Agri-tech Startup India’ initiative, South-South collaboration and down-to-earth humility of the Prime Minister in setting-up a regional rice research center in Varanasi in India – the world’s largest rice producer – the duo decided to form the FBFP. It was also a wake-up call to the duo, as despite having the IRRI head quartered in its soil, Philippines is one of the largest importers of rice in the world, with millions of Filipino rice farmers are wallowing in the vicious cycle of poverty, whose livelihoods are becoming increasingly vulnerable to every passing typhoon in this era of climate change! Arvind Kumar TJ, an international agricultural commodity markets risk management expert and co-founder of Aumra Group companies in the Asean region (www.aumra.net); Abhishek Raju, an international Satellite-technology expert and co-founder of SatSure Group of companies (www.satsure.co); Capt. Mannie Barradas, a highly respected former vice-mayor, pioneer of introducing aviation technology in Philippine agriculture and UPLB alumni leader on Agri-mechanization; Ting Caedo, a well-respected leader from the PCIC(Philippine Chamber of Industry and Commerce) in promoting global investments in the Philippine agriculture and fisheries sector; Ms. Gina Banoc, a young Filipina farmer and Super Typhoon Yolanda survivor, who represents the ‘Bayanihan’ spirit of the Filipino farmers and fisherfolk affected by the frequent natural disasters and climate change; Balraj Singh Bhattee, an International Insurance industry expert; joined as co-founders and board members, sharing, pooling and contributing their commitment, sincerity, resources, sweat and struggle required to realize the vision and mission set by Billy Gualberto and Dr. Benjamin Quinones for the FBFP.
When SatSure was formally launched in the Philippines on 27th October 2019 at the 4TH ASEAN-INDIA Business summit gala event, in the presence of H.E. Ram Nath Kovind, President of India, Indian Ambassador to the Philippines H.E. Jaideep Mazumdar, Honorable Philippine cabinet secretaries, congressmen, top government officials, private sector leaders from the agriculture, banking, insurance industries, as well as the media and delegation from the leading chambers of commerce and investment community from Philippine and India, the FBFP and SatSure signed some of the key agreements, including forming their JV partnership. The President of India H.E. Ram Nath Kovind not only appreciated the Philippines-India JV initiative of Crisanto “Billy” Gualberto but also invited him to visit India to interact with the rice and coconut farmers.
On February 15, 2021, in the presence of H.E. Shambhu Kumaran, the Indian Ambassador to the Philippines, who initiated the “Seeds to Satellite-technology Cooperation” to take the agri-fisheries cooperation between India and Philippines to the next higher level and Dr. Tirso Ronquillo, President of Batangas State University(BatStateU), Batangas, the leading engineering university of the Philippines, FBFP signed an academic-industry and public-private sector partnership with the BatStateU, to establish its presence at the KIST(Knowledge, Innovation, Science Technology) Park, the first-ever Filipino-India JV startups ecosystem collaboration center for developing Geospatial technology-based solutions and products for agriculture, fisheries and natural disaster response.
“ On behalf of the Filipino farmers, Filipino people and Philippines-India Knowledge Economy and Startups Collaboration Platform(PIKES) of Batangas State University KIST Park,Batangas and Chennai, India, I would like to express my deep gratitude to Hon. Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of the Government of India and H.E. Shambhu Kumaran, Ambassador of India to the Philippines, for approving the proposal dated 07 February 2022, signed by Hon. Dr. William Dar, Agriculture Secretary of Department of Agriculure (DA) of Philippines. This project proposal jointly proposed and prepared by Planters Products Inc., an entity under the DA, and Farmers Bazaar Fintech Philippines Inc., together with its affiliate Filsatelles Geospatial Agri-tech Inc., (Filipino entities and affiliate of Aumra Agri-Food group Philippines) which are implementation partners of SatSure Analytics Pvt.Ltd., Bangalore, India, under the support and guidance of Dr. Fermin Adriyano, undersecretary of DA and former consultant to The ADB(Asian Development Bank) and World bank, will benefit millions of our Filipino farmers and food security of our nation” – Mr. Crisanto “Billy” Gualberto, Co-founder of Philippines-India Knowledge Economy and Startups Collaboration Platform(PIKES) and Chairman of Board, Farmers Bazaar Fintech Philippines Inc.