The
Philippine Department of Trade and Industry
(DTI) represented by Philippine Trade and Investment Center Commercial
Counsellor Glenn Peñaranda urged Filipinos in Singapore to join the country’s
emerging startup community in a recent seminar organized by FilTreps, a group
of Filipino entrepreneurs in Singapore that holds networking and information
sessions for Filipinos on setting up business, prospects for joint venture and
collaborations.
“Find inspiration in events
like this to get that idea off the ground.
Think about a solution that is original and differentiated. There is a new breed of businesses that thrive
in the innovation economy. Do your research,”
said Mr. Peñaranda.
Mr. Peñaranda also shared the
strategies and policies of the Philippine government, particularly of the DTI
and the recently formed Department of Information and Communications Technology
(DICT), in promoting innovation and entrepreneurship and enabling the
development of startup businesses to stimulate economic and job growth. Taking a collaborative approach with the
industry, DICT launched the Philippine Roadmap for Digital Startups with key
industry players in 2015.
For DTI, the agency
introduced the SlingShot Philippines, an event held for startups during the
Philippines’ hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. It was then
followed by SlingShot in Manila and Cebu in 2016. Several dialogues with the community and
seminars were held under the SlingShot Philippines program of the DTI. A
Slingshot ASEAN is being planned for in late 2017. The goal is to be the
platform for public dialogue and partnerships with key industry players
including venture capitalists, government, academe, and the private sector in
building and nurturing the ecosystem.
“It is our intention to be a
central participant, working with the private sector, the startup community and
other stakeholders to support the vibrant Philippine innovation
ecosystem," highlighted Mr. Peñaranda.
Earlier this year, DTI
unveiled the Startup Ecosystem Development Program (SEDP), an industry cluster
program to foster linkages among MSMEs and strengthen collaborative networks
within the ecosystem. SEDP has a five-point
action agenda with short, medium and long-term impact.
One of the immediate response
of the DTI to the growing sector is the establishment of the QBO Innovation Hub
located at the DTI International Building in partnership with Ideaspace Foundation,
a leading incubator-accelerator of startups in the Philippines. Under the
Negosyo (business) Centers Plus program, the hub aims to serve technology
startups and engage the local community through relevant activities such as
mentoring, networking and pitching.
One of the key partners of
the DTI in forwarding the Startup and Innovation agenda is the Office of the
Senator Bam Aquino who authored the Innovation Startup Act. The bill provides registration benefits,
subsidies and tax incentives for those planning to establish their own
startups.
The seminar with the Filipino
community in Singapore further included discussions with industry influencer
Joey Gurango of Gurango Software, SPRING.ph and Xurpas. He provided tips for
starting out and creating traction based from his vast experience. Mr. Gurango also shared the current landscape
of the Philippine startup ecosystem, insights and factors which contributed to
the successes of some local startups.
Mr. Gurango’s SPRING.ph is
one of the proponents of the DTI’s Launchpad program, a quarterly selection and
mentoring project designed for startups that have already established ideas but
need mentoring and support to scale up their business. With several participants from Singapore, a
Launchpad Singapore run is being considered in 2017.
The event finished with a
pitch and mentoring session, giving the featured Filipino groups opportunity to
present to Messrs. Peñaranda and Gurango and receive valuable feedback. (DTI)
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