The Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development and QBO Innovation Hub recently hosted the PH Startup Incubator Awards to recognize and reward top-performing technology business incubators that have demonstrated outstanding capabilities and produced impactful programs and startups during the TBI 4.0 Program.
The TBI 4.0 program, funded by the DOST-PCIEERD and led by QBO Innovation Hub, aims to develop world-class TBIs and incubator managers and increase the number of quality tech startups in the Philippines.
“The TBI 4.0 program has upgraded the entire Philippine startup ecosystem through your incubators. Our hope is that the program will help spread entrepreneurship all over the country,” said QBO Innovation Hub and IdeaSpace president Rene Meily.
Initiated in 2019, the program elevated the capacity and services of the 12 DOST-supported TBIs from all over the country, many of which were affiliated with local universities.
Under the TBI 4.0 program are four main strategies—co-incubation, internationalization, co-development of programs and levelling up—strategies that are meant to further equip incubators with capabilities to develop Filipino tech startups.
The DOST and QBO Innovation Hub introduced the PH Startup Incubator Awards to recognize and showcase the country’s TBIs and their accomplishments throughout the TBI 4.0 program, as they continue to support startup businesses through their high-quality innovative training and service offerings. The event also marks the two-year celebration and culmination of the TBI 4.0 Program and the journey of the 12 technology business incubators that participated.
“This continues to be part of our core mission and to date, we have helped launch nine spinoff companies with an additional six spinoff companies in the pipeline, on top of the other ventures that we have helped launch. During a time when it can sometimes be hard to find hope and inspiration, the first-ever Philippine Startup Incubator Awards gives us that and more,” Meily said.
The winners of the awards were announced on the Zoom and Facebook live platform on April 23, 2021. Each TBI was measured by its impact on each of the respective categories.
The list of categories and winners are Best Incubator Infrastructure -Center for Technopreneurship and Innovation of Batangas State University; Best Incubator Community Program-SIBOL Labs of University of the Philippines-Los Baños; Best Incubator Startup Program-AIM-Dado Banatao Incubator of Asian Institute of Management; Best Incubator Governance & Operations – UPSCALE Innovation Hub of the University of the Philippines-Diliman.
Othe winners are Best Incubator Growth & Sustainability-Animo Labs of De La Salle University; Extra Mile Incubator-Animo Labs of De La Salle University; Rising Star Incubator-iDEYA of MSU Iligan Institute of Technology; People’s Choice for Best Incubator Team-iDEYA of MSU Iligan Institute of Technology; and Grand Champion- UPSCALE Innovation Hub of University of the Philippines-Diliman.
QBO Innovation Hub executive director Katrina Rausa Chan said the 12 TBIs who participated raised awareness of an ecosystem that continued to empower startups amid such unprecedented times.
“This past year was very challenging. It threw a curveball in this project just as we were getting started. I would like to congratulate all of you. In some ways, we’ve made it but in another sense, we’re just getting started. The work will keep going, and the work that we do is important,” she said.
DOST chief of research at information and technology transfer division Russel Pili encouraged more TBIs to explore the competitive ecosystem of digital advancements.
“As the local business landscape continues to become more digital, startups along with micro, small and medium enterprises must prioritize digitization to make processes easier for their own operations and their customers. With the PH Startup Incubator Awards, we hope to inspire more businesses to make that shift as we recognize and honor the TBIs that are at the forefront of innovation,” she said.
She said the TBI 4.0 Program would continue to provide a deeper engagement with the TBIs and further increase the impact of the program through collaboration and enriching experiences.