Philippine-based social impact organization Connected Women has won a global artificial intelligence challenge backed by data.org and Zoom for a project aimed at helping women sari-sari store owners use AI-powered business insights to improve their operations.
The group was selected from more than 500 applications across 76 countries under the Activate AI Challenge, making it the only Southeast Asian awardee in this year’s cohort. Other winners came from the United Kingdom, Peru, Hong Kong, Mongolia, and Togo.
The project will be implemented with Philippine technology company Packworks, which operates the Store Insighting Project (SIP), a platform that uses sari-sari store transaction data to generate AI-based recommendations on inventory, pricing, product mix, and demand patterns.
Connected Women said its role in the partnership is to help women store owners understand and apply the AI-generated insights through digital literacy sessions, coaching, onboarding, and community feedback mechanisms.
Women-led sari-sari stores remain a major part of local economies in the Philippines, but many continue to operate informally and have limited access to digital tools and business data, according to the organization.
“We want AI to be something women entrepreneurs can actually use, not something that feels distant or out of reach. This project is about making AI practical, human-centred, and relevant to small businesses on the ground,” said Agnes Gervacio, CEO of Connected Women.
Packworks co-founder Ibba Bernardo said data alone is not enough to change business practices among sari-sari store operators.
“SIP gives sari-sari store owners the data they need to make smarter business decisions. But data alone does not change behaviour. Partnering with Connected Women means every insight is paired with the coaching and confidence that turns knowledge into action. That is how AI actually reaches the stores that need it most,” Bernardo said.
Connected Women said it has trained more than 3,000 women in AI data annotation through its Elevate AIDA and Elevate GAIL programs, while its broader community now has over 200,000 members.
“This recognition is a signal that ethical, human-centred AI has a place in mainstream development funding. Connected Women has spent years proving that women in the Philippines can lead in the AI economy: as builders of AI systems, as AI-powered contributors to global workflows, and as entrepreneurs driving local commerce,” said Gina Romero, executive chair and founder of Connected Women.
