PHSW 2024 highlights investments, innovation trends

By Jomarc Angelo M. Corpuz, Special Features and Content Writer

The Innovative Startup Act (ISA) Steering Committee, led by the Department of Science and Technology (DoST), Department of Trade and Industry, and Department of Information and Communications Technology, recently held the 6th Philippine Startup Week 2024 (PHSW24) from Nov. 11-15 at the Blue Leaf Events Pavilion in Taguig City.

The five-day conference featured a series of activities nationwide including several conferences, a hackathon, a demo day, and the second edition of the KMC Startup Awards.

Among the events was a press briefing on Nov. 11 paneled by DoST-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) Executive Director Dr. Enrico C. Paringit, Department of Information and Communications Technology Industry Development Bureau Jhino Llano, Innovation and Collaboration Division Chief Karl Pacolor, Ideaspace Executive Director Jay Fajardo, and SCALE NCR President Maria Cristina Ibañez.

During the session, the panel discussed the government’s ongoing efforts to support the Philippine startup ecosystem, noticeable trends in the local startup landscape, and the investments needed from investors to help Filipino startup companies further grow.

“In terms of how much, I think relatively we really need as much of the resources we can get in terms of being able to fund the startups that we have here… So as much as possible, we want to unlock the capital coming from local people, but also from international investments,” said Mr. Pacolor.

Mr. Paringit echoed the sentiment and highlighted that substantial investments in funding are necessary to ensure effective programs and interventions for startups.

“I would say we are looking at something like P5 billion, that’s just the minimum. I may have to adjust it to be more aggressive. It’s nice to have these kinds of figures as a goal just for us to see if we are doing the right kinds of programs, putting up interventions,” Mr. Paringit said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Fajardo revealed that fintech, artificial intelligence (AI) and sustainable practices are emerging as prominent trends in the local startup scene.

“So far, what we’ve seen in our sphere, is a lot of fintech startups have emerged in our ecosystems… However, in the last 12-15 months, we’ve seen that these verticals diversify and include sustainable practices, and of course, AI startups,” he said.

Ideaspace Ventures Demo Day

Organized on the second day of the Philippine Startup Week, Ideaspace Ventures Cohort 12’s Demo Day showcased the latest batch of startups in its flagship accelerator program. The startup arm of the MVP Group added five startups to its portfolio on Nov. 12 and for the first time since its launch made immediate investments in the selected startups.

Included in the Cohort 12 startups are Collo, a property management app; Flying Tigers Express, an aerial logistics service provider; and Itemcount, a tool aimed at helping businesses with inventory management.

Also part of the group are Remotify, a platform designed to revolutionize remote work management on a global scale; and SwiftClaims, which focuses on streamlining the processing of claims for the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) and other health insurance providers.

The event also featured a fireside chat between National Development Company’s (NDC) Chairman of Investment Committee Alewijn Ong and Ideaspace Ventures Deputy Director and Head of Investments Ben Alderson.

The session discussed topics ranging from the establishment and principles of the NDC’s venture fund, the challenges in the Philippines’ startup ecosystem, and their collaborations with other government agencies and venture capital firms.

“We would like to let the world at large know that the NCD can actually not just provide funding but we can also invest in these companies. It’s a very strong message that the government is telling,” Mr. Ong explained.

At the end of the event, he also announced that the NDC, through its startup venture fund, along with investment firm Kaya Founders will be investing $300,000 in SwiftClaims, one of the startups on the demo day.

iThink Hackathon

The sixth edition of ISLA Camp’s (ICP Hub Philippines) iThink Hackathon also concluded on Nov. 15 at Tier One HQ, as a flagship event of the Philippine Startup Week 2024.

Co-presented by Tier One Entertainment, in partnership with Devcon Philippines and Filipino Web Development Peers, the 10-day hackathon offered aspiring developers and entrepreneurs a structured environment to ideate, build, and pitch projects that address real-world issues.

The hackathon is also a platform where teams showcased their projects to a panel of industry experts, potential investors, and partners seeking the next wave of Filipino-led innovations.

Earlier this month, the ICP Hub Philippines also awarded P50,000 in total prizes to the winners of the concluded Regional Assembly on Information Technology Education 2024 iThink Hackathon, a 30-day hackathon aimed to create digital solutions that address key issues related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Additionally, ISLA Camp, in partnership with the Philippine Society of Information Technology Educators (PSITE) Region 3, awarded five laptops to IT students from the region, honoring their hard work and dedication to their studies.