Phl deemed as potential startup investment haven

CEBU, Philippines - The Philippines has notably established an ecosystem for startup entrepreneurs, but its growth is fairly young and is yet in its early stages.

Dave McClure, founder of business incubator 500 Startups, said several capitalists have shown interest to the country as great potential investment haven for startups.

The fact that the market is growing faster should spur Filipino startups and innovators to grow and discover the opportunities in the global community, he told reporters in an interview during the Geeks on a Beach conference in Cebu’s Mactan Island last week.

McClure cited that a good market, capital access and the level of entrepreneurial ability are three important factors for startup initiatives to grow and succeed. The increasing smartphone usage and Internet penetration have also contributed to the growth of the industry, he added.

While it can be considered a risky investment, the Silicon Valley investor pointed out startups have an aggressive advantage over existing businesses.

Silicon Valley is actually a region in San Francisco, California that is believed to be the technology center of United States.

‘Doing things differently’

The concept of startup has also allowed people “to do things differently,” thus giving them the opportunity to develop creativity and the ability to find solutions to current problems, according to Maria Ressa, the CEO of Manila-based Rappler.com which started as a news startup.

She used to work in big media companies such as CNN and ABS-CBN, and later moved to a new environment -- now a technology - and innovation-driven company.

The shift of workplace, Ressa shared, has made her realize that new startup players need to talk with people who are doing such endeavor and should have a fresh mindset to learn new things.

“It’s really a different ecosystem,” the longtime journalist spoke to reporters during the GOAB event. “A startup mindset is an entrepreneurial mindset.”

Ressa noted the social media and mobile phones have both created an environment for inventive people to harness their ideas and look for a certain niche that new technolgy could serve.

“You have to know on how you can unlock the capacity of social media. The realm of possibility has just expanded with the help of new technology,” she added.

On the other hand, Wesley Chiongbian, founder of Cebu-based online job site Mynimo.com, said startup investments have a greater opportunity nowadays, given the support from society and improved confidence of investors.

Unlike the time when Chiongbian started his company in 2007, it had to face the challenge of limited fund and really boost traffic at the beginning. “That has been our biggest challenge that we have to be creative in our hiring process,” he shared. 

Startup Investor Earl Valencia of IdeaSpace Foundation encouraged innovative Filipinos to not hesitate in trying to create businesses that would solve the existing problems in the community using the power of technology.   (FREEMAN)