MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Embiggen Group Founding Partner and Board Member Earl Martin Valencia was appointed as an executive member of the National Innovation Council of the Philippines, representing the business sector.
Valencia is a seasoned innovator and is one of the most influential Filipinos in the innovation and startup space. Over his career, he has helped build the Philippines startup ecosystem from the ground up.
In 2016, he co-founded the QBO, a Philippine-based innovation hub developing the local startup ecosystem. He also founded the IdeaSpace Foundation in 2012, a non-profit organization that runs an incubator and accelerator program that helps early-stage startup founders grow their businesses.
“As the Philippines aims to be a $1 Trillion economy in 10-15 years, Innovation will be the main driver of this change. Given our young, digital, and globally connected population, we are well-positioned to move into an innovation-driven country to accelerate our growth. I am looking forward to working with the President and the other members of the National Innovation Council to create policies that will move our nation forward,” said Valencia.
Alongside his work at Embiggen, Valencia is also the Founder and CEO of fintech startup Plentina.
The National Innovation Council is the Philippine government’s main policy-making body for innovation. It is chaired by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and is vice-chaired by NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan. Its members include 16 department secretaries and 7 executive members from the private sector.
Thus, the council is one of the most influential groups in the country that is crucial in working towards inclusive economic growth and sustainable national development.
The 25-member council is tasked with spearheading the overall development of the country’s innovation capabilities. Its work will be crucial in realizing NEDA’s AmBisyon Natin 2040 vision by using innovation to stimulate inclusive growth in the country and tackle key societal challenges affecting the Philippines today.
Some of the priority challenge areas the council has identified include food, transport, finance, water, energy, trade, defense, education, health, and public administration.
Furthermore, the council manages the Philippines’ innovation fund which is used to strengthen the local startup ecosystem. The fund finances the innovation projects and research of government agencies, local government units, state universities and colleges, and government-owned and -controlled corporations.
About the Embiggen Group
Embiggen is a multi-awarded corporate venturing and innovation group that builds, scales, and invests in new digital ventures with forward-thinking and entrepreneurial organizations. By leveraging corporates’ expertise, insights, and resources, it provides end-to-end solutions that take your teams from learning to executing innovation at startup speed.
It was created on the belief that innovation is the solution to the world’s most pressing problems including inaccessible healthcare, widening education gaps, and water scarcity.
Last April 2023, Embiggen won a Silver Stevie Award at the 10th annual Asia Pacific Stevie Awards under the Most Innovative Startup of the Year – Business Service Industries category. Furthermore, the Embiggen Group was one of the finalists for the Corporate Sustainability Champions category at the 2022 ORIGIN Innovation Awards.
In 2022, Embiggen Founding CEO & Managing Partner Rolan Marco Garcia was part of the Circles of Excellence for the Young Leader of the Year and Entrepreneur of the Year categories at the 2022 Asia CEO Awards.
Learn more about the work Embiggen does here.