Six secondary school students on three teams have been selected to represent the Philippines at the Asia-Pacific regional finals of the 2026 FedEx / Junior Achievement International Trade Challenge (FedEx / JA ITC), which will be held in Singapore this August.

Now in its 17th year in the country, the program is co-organized by Federal Express Corp. (FedEx) and the nonprofit organization JA Philippines, the local arm of the global Junior Achievement youth business education network, and aims to foster global business acumen among high school students through practical trade workshops and case competitions. This year's brief required participants to develop a Market Entry Strategy Plan (MESP) for artificial intelligence (AI)-powered warehouse drones designed to improve inventory accuracy and fulfillment efficiency in Vietnam's logistics and e-commerce markets — the kind of go-to-market exercise, spanning target customers, pricing, and operations, that export managers and strategy teams undertake when entering a foreign market. The scenario also mirrors a broader industry shift: logistics operators worldwide have been deploying drones and AI-driven systems to automate inventory counts and cope with labor constraints, while Vietnam has ranked among Southeast Asia's fastest-growing e-commerce markets.

Representing Mandaue City Comprehensive National High School, students Matthew John A. Hife and Lorente Jr. Berden presented ArkSight, an autonomous inventory drone that integrates computer vision, UHF RFID, and cloud analytics. Operating under a Drone-as-a-Service (DaaS) model tailored to Vietnam's SME-dominated logistics sector, the solution targets mid-sized e-commerce and third-party logistics (3PL) warehouses, projecting $244,000 in first-year revenue with operational break-even expected by Month 8.

From the University of San Jose-Recoletos, Minette H. Cabaluna and Jim Niño C. Gonzales of Team The Visionary pitched Chuôn Chuôn, a subscription-based inventory automation platform featuring autonomous drones, wireless charging docks, and Chuôn2Bot, a Vietnamese-language conversational AI assistant. Designed to address labor shortages and audit inefficiencies in Vietnam's expanding 3PL e-commerce hubs, the strategy targets 10 enterprise clients in its initial year, with projected revenues of $81,075 (approximately VND 2.1 billion).

Completing the Philippine delegation, Mico Alfonso Aviñante Nolledo and Nathan Trono Dy Pico of Team TeamMate from Everest International Academy developed Altius AI, an autonomous drone platform engineered specifically for cold-chain facilities in Ho Chi Minh City. The system combines inventory scanning, LiDAR mapping, and warehouse management system (WMS) integration with environmental monitoring sensors that track temperature fluctuations and humidity risks in low-temperature storage environments — a segment where demand for temperature-controlled capacity has been growing across Southeast Asia's grocery and pharmaceutical supply chains.

"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. "Bringing back the in-person workshop while continuing to welcome students virtually allowed us to reach even more aspiring entrepreneurs across the country. Through the FedEx / JA International Trade Challenge, we hope to equip Filipino youth with the confidence, global perspective, and problem-solving skills they need to turn bold ideas into meaningful business solutions."

At the regional finals, the Philippine delegation will collaborate and compete alongside students from across Asia-Pacific, including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Beyond the competition itself, participants will gain exposure to international business perspectives, exchange ideas with peers from diverse markets, and engage with FedEx leaders and industry practitioners, providing them with real-world insights into global trade and innovation.

Since 2009, the FedEx / JA ITC program has served as a platform for young entrepreneurs to showcase their capabilities, with Filipino students consistently delivering strong performances. These include a first-place finish in 2020 and 2021, and second place in 2021, 2024, and 2025. The achievements underscore the lasting impact of the FedEx / JA ITC, a program that has reached more than 12,000 students in the Philippines. The August regional finals in Singapore will be the next test of that track record.