MANILA, Philippines – Target ng pamahalaan na magkaroon ng P5 bilyon ng investments mula sa local at international investors para tulungan ang Filipino startup companies na lumago pa sa mga susunod na taon, sinabi ng isang opisyal ng Department of Science and Technology (DOST) nitong Lunes, Nobyembre 11.
“If we have to project another goal, let’s say for the next five years, I would say we are looking at something like P5 billion, that’s just the minimum…It’s nice to have these kinds of figures as a goal just for us to see if we are doing the right kinds of programs, putting up interventions,” ani Enrico C. Paringit, executive director ng DOST- Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD) sa press briefing.
Binibigyang mandato ng Republic Act No. 1137 o Innovative Startup Act ang DOST, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), at Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) na bumuo ng Philippine Startup Development Program, kabilang ang mga benepisyo at insentibo sa startups at startup enablers.
Binibigyang mandato rin ng kaparehong batas ng DOST na magbigay ng pondo sa startups sa bansa.
Sa datos mula sa DOST-PCIEERD, mayroon nang P362.7 milyong investments para suportahan ang 96 startups sa bansa.
Nakalikha na rin ito ng 3,560 trabaho at nakakuha ng 11,000 users at subscribers.
“With these 96 startups we supported, they actually raised P219 million in investments and P843 million in revenue created,” ani Paringit.
Samantala, sinabi ng DTI na kailangan pa ng karagdagang investments para sa Filipino startups sa teknolohiya na binubuo ng in-house, university-founded startups, at mga dinidevelop ng technopreneurs.
“In terms of how much, I think relatively we really need much of the resources we can get in terms of being able to fund the startups that we have here. Unlike many other countries, the Philippines has relatively scarce resources in terms of funds we will be able to invest. So as much as possible, we want to unlock the capital coming from local people, but also from international investments,” ayon kay Karl Pacolor, division chief ng DTI Innovation and Collaboration Division.
Ang DTI ay may mga programa para makatulong sa startups sa anumang lebel na lumago pa at lumawak sa international stage.
“The goal was to bring our local startups on the international stage. We actually have soft landing programs for them, going to Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore so our startups will be exposed to the ecosystems that we have right now,” ani Pacolor.
“In partnership with DICT and DOST, we also organized business missions….So we can ensure that we are exposed to different trends and also it’s a way for us to understand the markets outside of the Philippines, because we want our startups to be competitive.”
Binuo rin ang Startup PH website, isang one-stop shop site para sa startups sa bansa.
“This is a major repository of all different startups, basically a one-stop shop for all startup-related ideas, information, even the things they need to do for their startup to really flourish,” pahayag ni Jhino Llano, DICT assistant director. RNT/JGC
