Silicon Valley entrepreneur excited about Phl startups

MANILA, Philippines - In town recently was Silicon Valley entrepreneur Bowei Gai, in the course of a nine-month mission to document and connect the global startup community. He could not have come at a better time: the Philippines had just received its first investment-grade rating from international debt watcher Fitch Ratings.

Gai acknowledged that he had never considered the Philippines an exciting investment area for startup companies, but with the Fitch rating, he said the Philippines deserved a second look.

The Philippines is one of 29 countries Gai was visiting for the World StartUp Report — a mission to collect, synthesize, and share information about startup ecosystems. Prior to founding the World StartUp Report, Gai had established a mobile business card transcription service called CardMunch which was later acquired by professional network LinkedIn.

During his visit, Gai dropped by the Makati headquarters of business incubator IdeaSpace Foundation and met up with its president Earl Valencia. IdeaSpace sponsored the recent World Startup Report meetup for the Philippine community at the Microsoft Philippines office in Makati.

IdeaSpace recently named 10 startups it would support through funding of up to P5 million each, six-month business incubation, mentorship, and linkages with investors in the Philippines, Silicon Valley, and other parts of the world.

The foundation is backed by Smart Communications Inc. and other companies under the PLDT Group, First Pacific Company Ltd., and Metro Pacific Investments Corp.

In 2011, Smart got Valencia, then based in Silicon Valley, to become its lead person in corporate development and innovation. He eventually became co-founder and president of IdeaSpace. Smart has also been partnering with international players like AngelHack to give Filipinos a link to the global arena.

Here are excerpts from an exclusive interview with Gai by Cyril Bonabente of the Smart Public Affairs Group:  

How did you choose which countries to visit for the World Startup Report?

I didn’t want to focus only on the big markets like Israel and Singapore, or only on the small ones like Nepal and Myanmar. I wanted to see everything in between so I would know what’s really happening in startup ecosystems all over the world.

What had you heard about the Philippines before your visit?

Not much. This country is under-discovered. One of my friends wanted me to go here. Originally I was going to spend only a few days here. But I stayed a few more days — about a week and a half. It’s very nice. I have been doing a lot of work and meeting a lot of people here because there is so much to see.

What have you learned about the startup community in the Philippines?

The community is very small. It’s probably one of the smallest, which is surprising given the size of your country. The ecosystem is very small, so there’s imbalance. But there’s so much going on, like IdeaSpace. The market is growing. I’m very, very happy to see these things improving. I’m excited about your country. Before I would never consider the Philippines, but now I’m giving it a thought.

How vital is the role of incubator programs like IdeaSpace in startup ecosystems?

It’s very, very important for a startup community to have an incubator because many of these entrepreneurs do not know how to begin. They need help and guidance. Incubators give them a way to get that.

The startups under IdeaSpace are very lucky. The office is very nice. IdeaSpace is spoiling them. Other startups have to pay to get mentoring from experts. But these startups get that from IdeaSpace for free.

There’s also the halo effect. (Because IdeaSpace is backed by established companies, the startups being helped by the foundation will also benefit from the public’s respect for these organizations.)

What can you say about the efforts of companies like Smart to bring in international players to the country?

That’s probably the smartest thing you guys can do because people here need a lot of help. You need foreigners to come here and help show them what they should do. I think it’s great what Smart is doing.