The Philippines climbed three spots to rank 56th in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2023 out of 132 economies included in the report.
The report noted that the Philippines continued performing above expectations based on its gross domestic product per capita as it effectively turned costly innovation investments into more and higher-quality outputs.
“The improvement of the Philippine innovation ranking is a welcome development. But we have to continue being dissatisfied—dissatisfied not just in our current posture in the global innovation map but in the current way of things around us, whether products, solutions, systems, processes or practices. We need to develop among Filipinos a mindset that continuously innovates to challenge the norm until such a time that innovating becomes our norm,” Intellectual Property of the Philippines director-general Rowel Barba said.
Barba noted how Philippine innovation inputs improved for the first time since 2020, jumping by seven spots to 69th from 76th in 2022 and by 13 spots from 82nd in 2018—the year before the game-changing Philippine Innovation Law and Philippine Startup Act were enacted.
He said the rise in innovation inputs could mean that the fundamental resources and conditions that make a vibrant innovation ecosystem are close within the country’s reach.
The Philippines ranking in the Credit sub-pillar went up 57 spots this year, from 115th to 58th, reflecting improved accessibility and availability of financing which had been the primary obstacles to startups.
Investments went up four notches, from 55th to 51st, as more venture capitalists invested in the country, raising venture capital deals received both in number and in value.
Innovation linkages also rose 12 spots, from 91st to 79th, encouraging stronger collaboration across the innovation terrains and highlighting the bigger role the country’s innovation and technology support offices (ITSOs) while the university-industry R&D collaboration indicator improved by 7 spots, from 64th to 57th.
Barba said Filipinos needed to produce more knowledge assets that positively impact markets and society to reverse the decline in innovation outputs to 52nd from 51st in 2022 and 40th in 2021.
“But we recognize that innovating in these times will also be challenging amid high inflation, monetary tightening policies and geopolitical tensions,” he said.
The report noted that after a boom in 2021, innovation finance through venture capital investments declined by 40 percent in 2022 while international patent applications recorded the slowest rate of increase since 2009, although still achieving a record 280,000 applications.
IPOPHL said it would continue to expand the reach of its services, development assistance and awareness campaigns so that more Filipinos across the regions could take advantage and be part of the country’s fast improving innovation environment.