Embiggen, TechShake, a Philippine-based startup ecosystem builder, and StartUp Village, a startup incubator and accelerator co-hosted a mixer with visiting Filipino American angel investors and local startups in Manila last Wednesday, February 22, 2023.
“As a venture builder, we understand the importance of building a wide yet tight-knit network of startups and investors not only in the Philippines but worldwide,” said Rolan Marco Garcia, Founding CEO & Managing Partner of the Embiggen Group.
“Angel investors play a crucial role in a startup ecosystem. They typically invest in startups in the early stages of their growth, a time where it’s still getting its business off the ground and needs financial support to do so,” added Garcia.
The mixer is part of a week-long immersion trip where the delegation of angel investors from the FilipinoAngels Community aims to build long-lasting connections between US, Canada, Singapore, and Germany-based and Philippine-based investors and startups.
The delegation met with top VC firms, government officials, and over 40 local startups throughout the week and participated in panels, mentorship sessions, and cultural exchange activities.
“We’re thrilled to bring together a diverse group of investors, entrepreneurs, and other ambitious business-oriented individuals from around the world who are either Filipino or want to build and partner with Filipinos,” said Ian Logan, co-founder of FilipinoAngels.
“This event will inspire people to collaborate with Filipinos, ultimately leading to the growth of the global Filipino community and increased GDP for Filipinos globally.” said Lorenzo Santos, co-founder of FilipinoAngels
Local startups were able to pitch their business to the delegation of Filipino American investors and meet fellow startup founders.
Rose Rocket VP of Engineering Ian Logan, TAP Group Partner Lorenzo Santos, ex-AirBnB Experiences Project Lead Luis Mauro Yap, Filkor Capital Founding Managing Partner Maria Odiamar Racho, Filkor Capital Founding General Partner Diane Yoo, Unifier Ventures Managing Partner Miguel Encarnacion, Pod Foods CTO Timothy Wee, SXSW Innovators Fund Early Stage Investments Lead Angelo Francisco, and Global Marketing Executive Lyle Del Mundo joined the angel investors delegation.
Chicago Asian Network Co-Founder Lakhi Siap, Dream Bigger Ventures LLC Founder & CEO Christeen Rico, Tecdia Inc. Vice President & CFO Shinn Wolfe, Wavemaker VC Investment Associate Bernie Margulies, Dynamico Space CEO & Panalo CEO JR Calanoc, Mistletoe, Inc. Director Johanna Wiese, Asian Hustle Network Founder Bryan Pham, and Aevante, and Meridien Law Ltd. Attorney and Principal Edward Hwang also joined the delegation.
Embiggen Group: Corporate venturing in emerging markets
Embiggen is a corporate venturing group that partners with groundbreaking organizations to build, scale, and invest in new digital ventures at startup speed through corporate venture building (CVB) and venture capital-as-a-service (VCaaS).
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. By leveraging corporates’ deep expertise and resources with startup agility and speed, Embiggen builds new digital futures and disrupts industries.
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.
Learn more about the work Embiggen does here.