Key government agencies, homegrown startup heroes, and industry enablers convened to celebrate and accelerate the Filipino startup ecosystem at the Philippine Startup Week 2023.
The event, held in late November, was organized by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) with the support of QBO Innovation Hub, a public-private sector partnership and startup enabler, and other startup ecosystem stakeholders such as Bossjob and Uniquecorn Strategies.
With the theme “Investing in Filipino Homegrown Heroes as Global Game Changers,” the week-long event focused on putting a spotlight on over 170 Filipino startup heroes and bolstering Philippine startup investments in the face of global “funding winter.”
“In organizing its fifth edition, we didn’t just celebrate achievements but more importantly, we dove headfirst into expanding horizons and carving out new paths for our nation’s most promising startups with the mix of events, programs, and collaborative efforts throughout the conference. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all our partners and participants who made PHSW23 not just a successful event but a total game-changer for our local startup scene,” said Katrina Chan, Executive Director of QBO Innovation Hub.
“This year’s Philippine Startup Week showcased the most promising and high-potential startups in the country and underscored the growing maturity of our ecosystem for global success. Startups are poised to become a key pillar of the Philippine economy,” added Rene Meily, president of IdeaSpace Foundation.
In its fifth year, the event attracted over 3,000 attendees who engaged in a week-long series of activities to enrich the startup ecosystem and provide opportunities to forge important partnerships among startup founders, investors, corporates, academia, and government agencies.
PHSW23 presented an illustrious lineup of at least 170 leaders from the startup community. Esteemed founders leading the charge included Bing Tan of Packworks, Dean Bernales of Uniquecorn Strategies, Dennis Ng of Mober, Kimberly Chen of Bossjob, and Nichel Gaba of PDAX. Notable investors and ecosystem enablers also graced the event, including Franco Varona of Foxmont Capital, Melvin Chan of PLDT Enterprise, Uriah Velunta of Multisys, Puiyan Leung of Vertex Ventures, Dylan Keota of A2D Ventures, Paulo Campos of Kaya Founders, Niña Terol of Imaginable Impact, Tina Nepomuceno-Di Cicco of Manila Angel Investors Network, Jojo Malolos of PayMongo, Rene Cuartero of AHG Lab, Mike Maté of Kickstart Ventures, Natasha Bautista of 917Ventures, and Carlo Delantar of Gobi-Core Philippines.
This year’s event featured the first-ever “Sinigang Valley Conference” organized by QBO, alongside AHG Lab, Foxmont Capital, Kaya Founders, and founding members of the country’s premier private-sector-led startup organization Sinigang Valley Association (SVA). One of the highlights was the keynote speech by Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce, and Entrepreneurship chairperson Senator Mark Villar.
In addition to the main conference activities, the most promising Filipino startups of the year were put on the spotlight during the “Top 100 Startups SHOWQASE by QBO” and the inaugural “KMC Startup Awards,” recognizing their incredible contributions to the growth of the Philippine startup ecosystem.
