Six Filipino students will represent the Philippines at the 2026 Asia Pacific regional finals of the FedEx / Junior Achievement International Trade Challenge (FedEx / JA ITC) in Singapore after developing innovative AI-powered warehouse drone solutions for Vietnam’s fast-growing e-commerce sector.
Now in its 17th year in the Philippines, the FedEx / JA ITC program aims to strengthen entrepreneurial and international trade skills among secondary school students. Organized by FedEx in partnership with JA Philippines, the competition combines workshops and business challenges that expose students to real-world global trade opportunities.
This year’s challenge tasked participants with creating a Market Entry Strategy Plan (MESP) for AI-powered warehouse drones designed to improve inventory management and fulfillment operations in Vietnam’s expanding e-commerce and logistics industries.
Among the top-performing teams is ArkSight from Mandaue City Comprehensive National High School, which proposed an AI-enabled autonomous inventory drone integrating computer vision, RFID technology, autonomous navigation, and cloud analytics. The team’s Drone-as-a-Service (DaaS) model aims to make warehouse automation more accessible for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Another finalist, The Visionary from the University of San Jose-Recoletos, developed Chuôn Chuôn, an AI-powered inventory management platform featuring autonomous drones, real-time warehouse monitoring, and a Vietnamese-language conversational AI assistant. The solution is designed to address labor shortages and accelerate automation adoption in Vietnam’s logistics sector.
Representing Everest International Academy, TeamMate introduced Altius AI, an autonomous drone system tailored for cold-chain warehouses. The platform combines inventory tracking, environmental monitoring, LiDAR mapping, warehouse management system integration, and AI-driven anomaly detection to improve operational efficiency and worker safety.
“The future of innovation depends on giving young people the opportunity to learn, collaborate, and think big,” said Maribeth Espinosa, managing director of FedEx Philippines. She noted that the hybrid format of this year’s challenge enabled wider participation from students across the country.
At the Asia-Pacific finals, the Philippine delegation will compete alongside students from Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Participants will also engage with business leaders and industry experts to gain deeper insights into global trade, technology, and innovation.
Since its launch in 2009, the FedEx / JA ITC program has reached more than 12,000 Filipino students and has produced several regional winners, highlighting the growing strength of Filipino youth in entrepreneurship and technology-driven business innovation.
