The Cebu startup scene has come a long way. Many startups have risen and fallen along the way. People involved initially have gone to other places or ventures while some still remain. I’m not going to give you an accurate history or name names but treat this as sort of an observer from the sidelines.
With the entry of BPOs more than a decade ago, innovation and technology came along with it. Early startups saw opportunity in the IT-enabled services area and became profitable. Some startups have even gone into IPO (Initial Public Offering) in the stock exchange. The Philippine government’s attention only shifted about 5 years ago when they started recognizing the value of the startups and its community by allocating budgets into related or relevant national government agencies as well as laws.
Laws such as RA 9178: Barangay Micro Business Enterprises that provides income tax exemption from enterprise operation, RA 10644: Go Negosyo Act that provides services such as the Negosyo Center, revision of the Corporation Code, the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018 or Republic Act 11032 and early this year, Republic Act 11337 or the Innovative Start-up Act, which creates a Philippine Startup Development Program composed of benefits and incentives for start-ups or start-up enablers.
What is a Startup?
There are many definitions from many people so take your pick:
•A start-up is a company or project initiated by an entrepreneur to seek, effectively develop, and validate a scalable business model. - Wikipedia
•A start-up is a young company founded by one or more entrepreneurs in order to develop a unique product or service and bring it to market. By its nature, the typical start-up tends to be a shoestring operation, with initial funding from the founders or their families. - Investopedia
Cebu as a Startup Hub
Being in the center of the Visayas region and the Philippines, Cebu has a strategic location where start-up enablers from the capital or Luzon as well as enthusiasts from Mindanao can gather.
From small to big events, communities such as techtalks.ph has organized plenty of events building the local start-up community and this 2019 has also plenty of startup events covering different industry spectrum such as e-commerce, IT-BPM, digital, creatives, freelancers and the like.
In the past half of the year, we’ve had events such as The Freedom Summit by Entrepreneur Beach Club PH, Digibeez Fintech Summit that helped entrepreneurs and the business community learn ways to increase revenue and expand their business through online payments and related services, and the SUGOD Program organized by Global Shapers Cebu Hub that equips aspiring social entrepreneurs in Cebu with the fundamentals of starting or sustaining a business with social impact.
Some events are more down-to-earth such as Story Nights: Start-ups which shared stories, and experiences while others are more inclined towards knowledge sharing and skills building like pitch parties, ideation, and the like co-organized by co-working spaces and DTI-7.
There’s no doubt that more events will come in the future and I can’t describe everything in one article. All these can be found via Facebook Events in Cebu Area. Seize this opportunity to join, learn, network and immerse yourself in the Cebu Start-Up scene to find out and see for yourself the happenings in the community!
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Iggy Go, RFP®, REB, is a Public Speaker, Content Producer and Author of the book
“A Lazy Investor’s Way”.