IdeaSpace Foundation, the Philippine government’s Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the Information and Communications Technology Office (ICTO), are calling on public and private industry partners to collaborate in an initiative to build the Philippines’ version of Silicon Valley.
Taking cue from the rise of innovation districts around the world – the likes of Silicon Valley in the United States, Block 71 in Singapore, and MaGIC in Malaysia – the Philippine innovation hub will aim to foster the advancement of technology and innovation in the country with critical support from the government, the academe, and the private sector.
The collaboration represents the first-ever public-private partnership (PPP) in the country that is focused on growing the local innovation ecosystem as the country aims to improve its positioning in the emerging global digital economy.
“When we founded IdeaSpace in 2012, we wanted to find the next big innovative idea that will change the world, and to create a startup ecosystem that embodies the Silicon Valley-mindset of using technology and science to create massive change in the world,” said Earl Martin Valencia, president and co-founder at IdeaSpace.
“Today we realize the dream to create Philippines’ own innovation hub with our initial collaboration with the government and the academe where startups and high-potential research can get the support they need in order to grow and thrive,” Valencia added.
The announcement was made on the sidelines of the SlingshotMNL, the official Startup Event of APEC Philippines 2015, where venture capitalists, investors, startups, and industry stakeholders from the Philippines and around the world converged for the two-day event to discuss innovation prospects and chart the future of startup ecosystems around the region.