A startup is not just any ordinary business. Startups are visionaries. They are eager young companies that have dreams of making it big, constantly looking for the next opportunity, and working hard to make their unique business idea a reality.
But to do these things, finding the right home base for your business is crucial. You cannot serve your target demographic, attract the best employees, and establish your place in your niche if you do not have a strategic location.
This is where Manila comes in. If you want to perfect the balancing act of finding a suitable place for your business, Manila is a convenient intersection for your customers, employees, and investors – here, you will get the most bang for your buck.
Why Manila should be your startup’s homebase
The Philippine startup ecosystem used to be the laughing stock for venture capital, but now startups are having the last laugh as investors fight to earn a piece of Manila’s entrepreneurial potential.
With a network of talented and innovative minds, a market filled with opportunities, and affordable working and living spaces, no wonder a lot of businessmen choose Manila as the home base of their startup.
- A vast number of funding sources: If you’re looking for investment for your tech company, look no further. The Philippines’ government has taken initiative to improve the state of the Manila startup ecosystem (e.g., IDEA, ADVANCE, and, Global Acceleration Programs). The Department of Trade and Industry also continues to generate more and better entrepreneurship opportunities.
- Competitive edge: If you want to be a market leader, you have to keep innovating and always be at least one step ahead – just take a look at the likes of Kumu, PDAX, Kalibrr, Edukasyon.ph, and Edamama. In Manila, you’ll also be surrounded by larger well-established companies that you can learn from and even take on as a challenge.
- Sub-sector strengths: According to the Startup Genome, the Philippines is home to hundreds of fintech and e-commerce businesses, a lot of which are backed by global investors like Silicon Valley-based Y Combinator.
- Reputation as an investment destination: Manila is no longer in the shadows of its Asian peers. In almost every corner of the city, you can find emerging innovative startups that have been disrupting their industry. Foreign investors also consider Manila as a viable business area because of its geographical location at the heart of ASEAN.
Notable startup organizations in the Philippine startup ecosystem
There’s no doubt that the Manila startup scene is lively and one-of-a-kind. Some key ecosystem players include:
Foxmont Capital Partners
Foxmont Capital Partners is a venture capital fund dedicated to Filipino entrepreneurs to support them with early-stage funding, networking, and scaling. They invest in tech-driven startups committed to being pioneers of the Philippine digital evolution.
PhilDev Foundation
PhilDev is a nonprofit, innovation organization that enables the success of science and technology initiatives that aim to solve poverty through the means of education, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
SariSuki
SariSuki is the largest social commerce startup in the country. It has been taking on super app Grab’s e-commerce business by introducing a rapid grocery delivery service that gets your goods to your front door within 15 minutes.
Mosaic Solutions
Mosaic has set the gold standard for the hospitality industry. The company offers consulting services about profit optimization, data analytics, inventory management, point of sale, and purchasing.
Embiggen helps you move from a simple startup to an innovative startup
Founding a startup in Manila is an exciting endeavor. There are endless opportunities for you to fuel your business’ growth and maintain market share.
But take note that how your business responds to the problems of your time is critical to its existence.
Embiggen is a corporate venturing group that partners with groundbreaking organizations to build, scale, and invest in new digital ventures at startup speed.
Since the start of its operations in 2020, Embiggen has grown into a full-service hub for the innovation capability development and innovation execution needs of organizations. Our full suite of innovation services allows us to build innovation capabilities from the ground up: from training teams in innovation theory all the way to co-executing their innovation initiatives by building new innovative ventures.
Explore our solutions and see how we can help you become more innovative! Schedule a FREE strategy session with us today.