ADB, DTI and Dentsu Aegis Network Philippines’ officials get together to support entrepreneurial spirit at the VIA Startup Summit organized by KMC and Impact Hub Manila
Director Senen Perlada from the Export Marketing
Bureau of Department of Trade and Industry (DTI); Dentsu Aegis Network
Philippines’ Country CEO, Donald Lim; Chris Morris, Head of NGO and Civil
Society Center of the Asian Development Bank and Hendrick Kiamzon, Executive Vice
President, Meridian International (MINT) College, all described the role of the
government, academe and industry in fostering growth for the Philippine startup
and invocation ecosystem at the 1st ever KMC Startup Summit. Organized in partnership with Impact Hub
Manila (IHM), the summit brings together key stakeholders with an
entrepreneurial spirit at the Green Sun Hotel, Makati City.
“This summit brings together the best and
brightest minds in the startup ecosystem. Throughout the summit, there will be
many opportunities for developing relationships with key players who share
common vision of growth and economic sustainability,” said Gregory Kittelson,
Chairman and Co-Founder of KMC.
Partnerships and Collaboration
A segment called “VIA Collaboration” focused on
the positive effects of inclusion and teamwork. This discussion was led by
industry experts and ingenious startup owners. Ces Rondario, Co-Founder and CEO
of Impact Hub Manila joined Gregory Kittelson, Chairman and Co-Founder of KMC,
for the panel discussion. Space for Ingenious batch one winner, Alexis Lingad
of Cryptors Cybersecurity was also part of the panel.
Industries and Inclusion
Other invited resource persons for the whole day
summit include Ronna Reyes Sieh, Managing Partner of The Coding School, Ginger
Arboleda, Chief Operating Officer of Taxumo, Angeline Tham, Founder and CEO of
Angkas, and Donna Paez, Innovation & Business Development Manager of Globe
Telecom. All will be talking about “women championing technology and social impact”
at the VIA Inclusion. Freddie Tiñga,
President of Global Electric Transportation, Sreejith Narayanan, the
International Customer Success Head Netcore Solutions Pvt. Ltd., and Jonizel
Lagunzad, Chief Operating Officer of Zennya will also share their insights on
“trailblazing innovation crosscutting industries” at the VIA Industries
segment.
According to the 2017 Philippine Startup Survey,
there are now more than 300 startups in the country, most of which being
founded between 2012 and 2017. Continuing changes in technology and innovation
have also contributed to the growth of startups. “We firmly believe in the
Filipino entrepreneurial spirit. “All
startups have a dream they want to pursue. That dream is their starting point.
They face many sacrifices, risks and challenges,” says Ces Rondario.
According to Kittelson, KMC wants to provide
startups and entrepreneurs the avenue to establish relationships, develop
connections, and engage in programs that will help grow and sustain their
endeavors. He says there are (6 from the first batch of the SFI program)
startups spread around the 19 locations of KMC endeavored together with their
partner, Impact Hub Manila.
The VIA Startup Summit is also serves to
recognize the valuable contributions of startups to the local economy. “Many
startups have ventured into mobile, e-commerce, and fintech. This is proof that
Philippines’ startup ecosystem is growing rapidly with more and more young
professionals starting their own ventures. Matthew Barrie is one of our young
CEOs and his company has just won an International Smart City competition
called AcceliCITY against 600 startups from 40 countries,” says Riccardo
Corsini, KMC’s Vice President for marketing.
In partnership with Impact Hub Manila (IHM), KMC
undertook a program entitled “Space
for Ingenious Program” which helps bring an idea from conception to reality through mentorship from
industry experts, spaces conducive to productivity and idea incubation, and
access to a vast network of connections and potential investors. The six-month program
began last May 2018 and has incubated six startups that were among the first
batch of applicants for the program. One startup is Pushkart PH, an online grocery application that basically does the
shopping for you. Founder Josh Aragon, 29, lauds the mentorship of the program,
“Having mentors dive into your business model, dissect all of the
issues, and create a solution for you is really a valuable takeaway from the
program. They also give you the connections you need for your business to take
off.”
For more information about the VIA Startup Summit,
you may visit https://via-summit.com/.
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