It's the first time in the history of radio broadcasting that Kickstart Ventures of Ayala Corporation and Ideaspace Foundation of MVP Group of Companies, two of the leading angel investment companies in the Philippines, have met together in a radio program - our very own Vigattin Radio Program. We had a very interesting and timely discussion earlier about Venture Capitalism and the Startup Ecosystem here in the Philippines. Notable guests were Mr. Earl Valencia, President and Co-founder of Ideaspace Foundation; Ms. Pia Angeli Bernal, Social Enterprise Investments Manager of Kickstart Ventures; and four winning start-up teams which are now in their incubation period, with representatives Ms. Melissa Young and Mr. Angelito Crisologo of Tech4Health, Mr. Philip Adrian Atilano and Mr. Ken Marvin Wee of TimeFree, Mr. Justin Lim and Ms. Angelique Uy of ZAP, and Ms. Sam Balignasay of WorkInspire.
This made me remember our 2nd airing with guest Mr. Melvin Ryan Fetalvero of Chikka. He predicted that the year 2013 will be a very interesting year for startups in the field of science and technology. There will be a lot of venture capitalists here in the country who will give funding to innovative business ideas of the Filipino people.
And it's already happening.
Both Kickstart Ventures (https://kickstart.ph) and Ideaspace Foundation (https://ideaspace.ph) are multi-million-peso corporations investing in startups and technopreneurs based in the Philippines. Currently, they are both funding 10 startups each, which are chosen from among over a thousand of applicants all over the country. It just shows that there's open innovation everywhere in the Philippines, not just in the metros.
Mr. Earl Valencia told us the story and inspiration behind Ideaspace. He was from Silicon Valley, and upon talking with business tycoon Manny V. Pangilinan of the PLDT Group of Companies, they built Ideaspace Foundation with the vision of creating a Silicon Valley ecosystem here in the Philippines.
For the complete inspiring story of "One Filipino's Journey to Silicon Valley and Back," here's the link to an article by Mr. Valencia himself: https://sgentrepreneurs.com/2013/04/02/how-one-filipino-left-silicon-valley-to-build-up-the-startup-ecosystem-in-the-philippines/
Two of the ten winning teams under Ideaspace also shared with us their experiences and challenges as incubatees:
Tech 4 Health - solution for health monitoring of chronic conditions, including diabetes
TimeFree (https://www.facebook.com/TimeFree.Innovations) - SMS-based automated queuing system
Kickstart Ventures, on the other hand, is an early-stage seed fund that is operating just like the startups they've taken under their wing, as told by Ms. Pia Angeli Bernal. It is a joint venture between Ayala Corporation and Singtel, which is based in Singapore. It has collaborations all over Southeast Asia to grow the startup ecosystem in the region.
For Kickstart, a potentially successful startup should have a big innovative idea, a powerful team that delivers results, and an executable business plan. Particularly, Kickstart is looking for technopreneurs in digital media businesses (education, entertainment, commerce, digital conceirge, services), digital techology execution for traditional businesses (brick-and-mortar businesses that can scale impact in other areas through the use of technology), web and mobile applications, and other innovative ideas with a good business model and clear objectives.
Two of the ten winning teams under Kickstart also shared with us their experiences and challenges as incubatees:
WorkInspire (https://www.workinspire.com/) - project management tool integrated with email
ZAP (https://www.zap.com.ph/) - cashback loyalty card program
There is no doubt that the startup ecosystem here in the Philippines is progressing very fast. Kickstart Ventures and Ideaspace Foundation first shaped the local startup scene, and we hope there will be more like them that will support and uplift the bright innovators and creators of the country.
