
Philippines
Manila
"The Philippine startup ecosystem is thriving in the new normal as seen in the unfettered growth of investments. Home to a great pool of creative talents and with more focused government support, the Philippines is now a real emerging startup destination."



Highlights
Over the last few years, a number of regulatory reforms have helped enhance the competitiveness of the Philippine startup ecosystem. In 2021, the ecosystem raised $1 billion in funding, a 179% growth on the previous year. Two local Fintech startups are valued at more than $1 billion, with Mynt achieving "double unicorn" status in November 2021 after raising $300 million and Voyager Innovations raising a total of $210 million in its latest funding round. Kumu raised a $73.6 million Series C and GrowSari, an e-commerce startup, raised $77.5 million in its latest funding round.
With the potential contribution of startups to the economy, the Philippine government has been focusing on building a robust startup ecosystem through the implementation of such policies as the Ease of Doing Business Act, which streamlined government processes, systems, and procedures; the Revised Corporation Code, which allows the incorporation of one-person corporations; and the Innovative Startup Act and Philippine Innovation Act, which provide benefits and incentives for startup and innovative enterprises.
To continue fostering innovation and collaboration, the annual Philippine Startup Week (PHSW), the country’s premier startup networking conference, is held to celebrate and showcase the Filipino startup community. Aside from various community-organized events across the country, PHSW includes three main events: the Department of Science and Technology’s Technology Business Incubation Summit, the Department of Information and Communications Technology’s InnovNation event, and the Department of Trade and Industry’s Slingshot Conference. The IGNITE innovation conference by TechShake, dentsu X, and Brainsparks also supports the startup ecosystem.
Ecosystem by the Numbers
Amount ($)
Count (#)
Exits
(2017-2021)Sub-Sector Strengths
Fintech
E-commerce

Reasons to Move Your Startup to Manila
Government Startup Programs
The government provides assistance to startups through incubation and acceleration programs. The IDEA, ADVANCE, and Global Acceleration Programs were designed to help startups validate their solutions, commercialize, scale up, and expand globally. The government also provides funding support through the Startup Grant Fund, which helps startups in overcoming R&D roadblocks, and the Startup Venture Fund, which provides equity funding to startups.
Support for Foreigners
Tax Incentives
Selected Startup Organizations
Startup Genome Members
Key Ecosystem Players
Startup Genome
Partners
News from the Ecosystem
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