The pandemic transformed the Philippine startup ecosystem and served as a catalyst which compelled the country to rapidly innovate and adopt new technologies.
This was one of the findings revealed in the Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) 2022 during the London Tech Week in San Francisco, California.
According to the report, the pandemic led to the emergence of new players in the Philippines, a broader universe of startups, larger venture rounds, more frequent fundraising, and progressive industry growth.
A more dynamic approach is adopted as the focus shifts towards digital transformation, putting the startup scene at the center of innovation-based programs and projects.
“There is a strong improvement in Manila’s Ecosystem Value this year at $2.1-B from $584-M last year.”
Significant gains were reported in GSER 2022. For instance, there is a strong improvement in Manila’s Ecosystem Value this year at $2.1-B from $584-M last year. Total Early-Stage Funding showed similar gains with an increase to $292 million this year from $101-M last year.
Fintech and e-commerce also remain the country’s top-performing sectors due to their density of talent, support resources, and startup activity. All these are made possible with the emergence of innovative and enterprising talent, complemented by enabling laws, and the development of high-impact policies, creating a more conducive business environment where our startups can thrive.
The launch of the #GSER2022 Report at the London Tech Week boasts insights and guidance to public and private leaders on fostering developing startup communities. In particular, Manila’s entrepreneurial ecosystem is reported as:
- Top 20 Global Ecosystem and Top 10 Asian Ecosystem in Affordable Talent
- Top 25 Asian Ecosystem and Top 15 Asian Emerging Ecosystem in Funding
- Top 30 Asian Ecosystem in Bang for Buck
- Top 30 Asian Ecosystem and Top 20 Asian Emerging Ecosystem in Performance
- Top 30 Asian Ecosystem and Top 20 Asian Emerging Ecosystem in Talent & Experience
- Tax incentives and support for foreigners are cited as reasons a startup should move to Manila
Truly, the Philippines remain steadfast in its thrust toward sustaining the gains and keeping the momentum toward economic recovery.
As the country transitions to a new administration, a call for a united front and aggressive development of the Philippine startup ecosystem is needed to catch up with rising and emerging ecosystems highlighted in the #GSER2022 Report.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), together with other host agencies of the Innovative Startup Act, continually develops the competitiveness framework for the Philippine Startup Development Program.
Several projects are currently in the pipeline to aid startups from ideation to commercialization, with the target to develop hypergrowth startups and provide structure to the ecosystem to ensure strategic and continual growth.
With the recent partnerships and collaborations spearheaded by DTI, during the Israel Innovation Mission recently, Secretary Ramon Lopez underscored the country’s goal “to expand our global connectedness by engaging with our partners as we connect the Philippine startup ecosystem with other regional and global ecosystems.”
The emphasis placed on the importance of building collaboration to adopt best practices and creating a linkage with emerging ecosystems indeed contributed to our significant gains.
“Home to a great pool of creative talents and with more focused government support, the Philippines is now a real emerging startup destination.”
Undersecretary Rafaelita Aldaba remains hopeful as she believes that “the Philippine Startup Ecosystem is thriving in the new normal as seen in the unfettered growth of investments. Home to a great pool of creative talents and with more focused government support, the Philippines is now a real emerging startup destination.”
Lopez added, “We stress the importance of financial support from the government. The key success factor for innovation is the vibrant ecosystem and clear fund support by the government to selected startups with disruptive technologies and scalability.”
With data from over three million enterprises spanning 280+ entrepreneurial innovation ecosystems, GSER is the world’s most comprehensive research on startups where the top 30 and 10 runner-up global ecosystems, as well as a top 100 ranking of developing ecosystems, are ranked.
The GSER is created in partnership with the Global Entrepreneurship Network, Dealroom, and Crunchbase.
Discover how 140 entrepreneurial ecosystems worldwide stack up and view the full report here: https://startupgenome.com/report/gser2022
