Rethinking startup support in the Philippines

The African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child” is a popular mantra in the Philippine startup ecosystem, because often the success of any venture is only guaranteed by the strength of its place in the community. Yet, those villages still only live within Metro Manila.

- By Bjorn Biel M. Beltran Special Features and Content Assistant Editor

THE PHILIPPINES has no shortage of smart people with good ideas. That's been proven again and again. So, where are all homegrown startup unicorns?

Aside from Mynt and Voyager Innovations, the companies behind fintech giants GCash and Maya, there has been a noticeable lack of Filipino startups that have majorly disrupted the country's business landscape. If talent is not the problem, then the bottleneck must be somewhere else.

For many founders, especially outside Metro Manila, the bottleneck is systemic: a lack of mentorship, capital friction, weak founder pipelines, and the plethora of insufficient startup support programs that end before the real work begins.

After all, founders do not emerge fully formed. Most of them start with little more than a brilliant idea, a lot of questions, and a hope that someone will take them seriously. For many such young visionaries, incubators are where the idea either grows — or dies.

"While each offers a distinct value proposition, incubators and accelerators play a crucial role in providing startups with resources and opportunities that might otherwise take years to gain through experience, education, and market exposure," startup accelerator Launchgarage explained. "These are delivered in a shorter time frame and through cost-effective, scalable approaches."

To put it simply, incubators and accelerators are "the on-ramps" as Miguel Lorenzo L. Macale, senior investment manager at IdeaSpace Ventures, put it. "Beyond first checks, they shape founder know-how and discipline, give access to networks, and act as convenors in a fragmented ecosystem. They turn talent, hope, and dreams into ambitious and investable companies."