IdeaSpace Foundation (IdeaSpace), along with the government’s Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the Information and Communications Technology Office (ICTO), is calling on public and private industry partners to collaborate in its initiative to build the Philippines’ version of Silicon Valley in cooperation with key academic partners in the country.
Taking cue from the rise of innovation districts around the world – the likes of Silicon Valley in the United States, Block 71 in Singapore, and MaGIC in Malaysia – the Philippine innovation hub will aim to foster the advancement of technology and innovation in the country with critical support from the government, the academe, and the private sector.
The collaboration represents the first-ever public-private partnership (PPP) in the country that is focused on growing the local innovation ecosystem as the country aims to improve its positioning in the emerging global digital economy.
COLLABORATING FOR THE PHILIPPINES’ OWN INNOVATION HUB. UP Technology Transfer and Business Development Office (TTBDO) Director Dr.Luis Sison, Department of Trade and Industry Usec. Nora Terrado, Department of Science and TechnologyUsec. Rowena Guevarra, IdeaSpace President and Co-Founder Earl Martin Valencia, Smart Communications Public Affairs Head Ramon Isberto, and Information and Communications Technology Office Deputy Executive Director Monchito Ibrahim.
“When we founded IdeaSpace in 2012, we wanted to find the next big innovative idea that will change the world, and to create a startup ecosystem that embodies the Silicon Valley-mindset of using technology and science to create massive change in the world,” said Earl Martin Valencia, President and Co-Founder at IdeaSpace.
Government support
DOST Undersecretary for S&T Services Dr. Rowena Cristina L. Guevara said that aside from the five DOST-supported Technology Business Incubators (TBI), the Innovation Hub is an addition to DOST’s continuing program of encouraging innovative and entrepreneurial spirit among academic institutions, in partnership with the private sector. Moreover, the DOST envisions the Innovation Hub, a public-private partnership, to become not just a hub for startups but also a strategic focal point for Technology Transfer Offices (TTO) of the DOST and academic institutions to promote products and facilitate the transfer of their R&D results and establish connections with the investment community.
The DOST allocated a grant of P35M for equipment and operation of the two Innovation Hubs over the next two years. According to the Undersecretary, this fund has been approved already and a check is already prepared and signed.
Innovation hubs location: Intramuros, Manila and UP Diliman
IdeaSpace, DOST, DTI, and ICTO said it has laid out the groundwork for establishing innovation hubs in strategic locations including in Intramuros in Manila, which is within the vicinity of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM), Colegio de San Juan de Letran (CSL), the Lyceum of the Philippines and the Mapua Institute of Technology; together with the entire University belt; as well as in Diliman in Quezon City where the University of the Philippines and Ateneo de Manila University are situated.
The Philippines is one of the so-called “break-out” nations in the recent global DEI study conducted by the US-based Fletcher School at Tufts University, using data from 2008 to 2013. The country stands alongside China, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam as one of the “rapidly advancing countries” in the global digital topography.
