Flexible workspace provider KMC Mag Solutions Inc. launched the first KMC Via Startup Summit to create an ecosystem that is responsive to the needs of small businesses in the age of digitalization and globalization.
The event held at Green Sun Hotel in Makati City pooled together industry experts and start-up proponents to pep up the entrepreneurial spirit of attending start-ups from various sectors of the business community.
KMC Mag Solutions vice president for marketing Riccardo Corsini said the recently concluded summit served to recognize the valuable contributions of start-ups to the local economy.
“Many startups have ventured into mobile, e-commerce, and fintech. This is proof that Philippines’ startup ecosystem is growing rapidly with more and more young professionals starting their own ventures. Matthew Barrie is one of our young CEOs and his company has just won an International Smart City competition called AcceliCITY against 600 startups from 40 countries,” he said.
KMC organized the event in partnership with Impact Hub Manila. The summit highlighted the role of the government, the academe and the industry in fostering growth for the Philippine start-up and invocation ecosystem.
KMC and IHM jointly crafted a program called ‘Space for Ingenious Program’ which helps bring an idea from conception to reality through mentorship from industry experts, spaces conducive to productivity and idea incubation and access to a vast network of connections and potential investors.
The six-month program began in May 2018 and has incubated six startups that were among the first batch of applicants for the program.
One startup is Pushkart PH, an online grocery application that basically does the shopping for you.
Start-ups that received mentoring from the program lauded the efforts and time spent into the projects by both KMC and IHM to help them hop into bankable lead that will strengthen the concept and push for connections that will help them take-off.
According to the 2017 Philippine Startup Survey, there are now more than 300 startups in the country, most of which were established between 2012 and 2017.
Continuing changes in technology and innovation have also contributed to the growth of startups.
KMC wants to provide startups and entrepreneurs the avenue to establish relationships, develop connections and engage in programs that will help grow and sustain their endeavors.
KMC has provided start-ups with the opportunity for low-cost, affordable spaces where they can work, fit for a starting up business.
“We’re doing more co-working spaces next year. We’re expanding to more CBDs to accommodate more companies, more start-ups and even freelancers,” Corsini said.
The company is spreading out to the north, initially eyeing Clark as a potential site. It will be opening up two floors of co-working space in Cebu while the site in Ortigas will be expanded.
KMC, which has been operating in Manila for eight years now, has opened and developed 18 sites nationwide”•with offices in BGC, Ortigas, Makati, and Iloilo.
Co-working as a business has evolved through the years that the service has extended beyond the traditional common space features to include common personal activities health and wellness, according to Corsini.
“What were proud is that our flexispace comes with a lot of common facilities. In some case, we have yoga and wellness. We’re looking at providing more and more of these resources. In Ortigas, we are looking at providing media rooms for photos and videos. For some sites, we might have working rooms for YouTubers and even media publications,” he said.
KMC is an ISO certified flexible office solutions and staff leasing provider, dedicated to delivering customer-centric and highly flexible solutions to businesses seeking to set-up and grow in the Philippines.
It helps shape businesses by following them through each phase of their growth”•from spaces which include serviced offices, co-working, and virtual offices; people encompassing HR management or payroll and benefits administration; to enterprise covering tailored office fit outs, end-to-end offshore and business continuity plan solutions.
The company has the biggest portfolio of flexible co-working space with 50,000 square meters available for space retailing.