The group of businessman Manuel Pangilinan is pouring another P100 million this year to help technology entrepreneurs build profitable businesses.
“That’s the promise of our donors so it continues up to 2017… That’s from the First Pacific Group, but we are hoping that they will continue to support us every year even after 2017. We also look at other funding sources,” Diane Eustaquio, executive director at IdeaSpace, told reporters.
IdeaSpace, an incubator formed by Pangilinan’s group, earmarked P500 million over five years starting 2012, to support the program, which includes provisions for office space and IT facilities in Makati and the group’s Leadership Academy in Antipolo.
IdeaSpace is holding its startup competition for the fourth year, “Ever since IdeaSpace was founded, we have declared our belief that Filipino entrepreneurs can turn their innovative startup ideas into reality and make it big on the world stage as long as there is an ecosystem to support them,” Eustaquio said.
“With this new equity-free funding structure, IdeaSpace strengthens its commitment to the local startup ecosystem to bring out the most socially relevant innovations that can help solve pressing problems of the world, particularly in emerging economies such as the Philippines,” she said.