GMA Network enters health tech

MANILA, Philippines — Network giant GMA Network Inc. has signed a partnership with a California-based venture fund to help health startups in the Philippines bring their products and services to the US market and vice versa.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, GMA Network reported that its investment unit GMA Ventures Inc. entered into an agreement with Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health (Wavemaker 360) to promote health technology in Southeast Asia, particularly in the Philippines.

Under the collaboration, GMA Ventures and Wavemaker 360 would explore the most promising health entrepreneurs in the country to provide them the opportunity to expand in the US.

Further, the parties would also work on bringing US-based health startups into Southeast Asia to market the use of health tech in the region. For GMA Ventures, the partnership supports its push to contribute in economic recovery, as well as raise the shareholder value of its parent firm.

GMA Network chairman and CEO Felipe Gozon said the Philippines serves as a perfect market for health startups. He said that the country is experiencing a demand boom for medical services consequent due to the pandemic.

“The Philippines is on an upward trajectory in terms of healthcare innovation, and we are thrilled to have Wavemaker 360’s team of health care experts as our partner in evaluating and funding budding startups at the intersection of health care and technology,” Gozon said.

For one, the government has increased its budget for the health sector by 10 percent to P296.3 billion in 2023 from P268.4 billion in 2022, with the pandemic still ongoing worldwide.

With this, Gozon believes that health is a profitable segment to invest on, especially with the rise of tech-based fields like e-pharmacy, telemedicine, among others.

“The Philippines is seeing more integration of technology in the health care sector, accelerated by the impact of COVID-19. There has never been a more critical time for health tech evolution in the Philippines and the market opportunities are increasing in promising ways,” GMA Network said.