The country’s largest startup conference is happening this November 14 to 18, with the first in-person event–the first in two years–happening on the first day at The Blue Leaf Pavilion, Taguig, Metro Manila.
Now in its fourth year, the Philippine Startup Week (PHSW22) is working under the theme “Homegrown Heroes: Cultivating Future Tech Giants”, where it aims to focus on bringing together the local startup community as well as the various sectors, groups, and home-grown high-potential startups contributing to the growing Philippine startup ecosystem during this event.
Image: Mimi Thian/Unsplash
Joining the week-long conference are representatives from its core organizers: the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and QBO Innovation Hub. Speakers lined up to grace the event will include DOST Secretary Renato Solidum Jr.; DTI Secretary Alfredo Pascual; DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy; Rene ‘Butch’ Meily, President, QBO Innovation Hub; Nuseir Yassin, Founder and CEO, Nas Company; Georg Steiger, CEO & Co-Founder, BillEase; Steve Sy, CEO & Co-Founder, Great Deals Inc.; Stephan Kuester, Partner and Head of Ecosystem Strategy Consulting, Startup Genome; Carlo Delantar, Founding Partner, Gobi-Core Philippine Fund; Kimberly Yao, Founder, CloudEats; Artie Lopez, Co-Founder and Startup Coach, Brainsparks; Patricia Sosrodjojo, Partner, Seedstars; and Nicha Suebwonglee, Venture Capital Business Development Manager, AWS.
“The conference is seen as giving opportunities for founders in the Philippine startup ecosystem, from networking to exploring the different community events showcasing the startup ecosystem,” Rene “Butch” Meily, QBO president said.
As a blended conference — a first after two years — the conference will have an in-person meet-and-greet on the opening day at the Blue Leaf Pavilion, with the succeeding days to be held on a virtual platform.
Also happening on the opening day is a press conference, where the heads of QBO and IdeaSpace Foundation will join government sectoral representatives in discussing the current startup landscape in the country.
Katrina Rausa Chan, Executive Director of QBO Innovation Hub, recounts, “We want to level the playing field and give Pinoy startups the resources, the opportunities, and the network that they would need to be able to compete on the global stage. The Philippine Startup Week is a constant reminder of that goal and how we are progressing year on year.”
From growing the startup community, taking the journey through the drama and growing pains, to growing the ecosystem, Chan discussed how working with other partners propelled the local startup scene to where it is today.
“Different initiatives and stakeholders are joining hands with startup founders to discover, develop, collaborate, invest, and showcase what the Philippines, through our homegrown heroes, has to offer in the global startup ecosystem,” she said.
Philippine Startup Week 2022 is co-presented by PLDT, 917Ventures, Accelevents, AWS, Microsoft, Pilipinas Shell, along with Accenture, Meta, Xendit, Globe Business, Qapita, AHG, and Jobstreet.
Get free PHSW22 tickets and learn more about the event by visiting https://www.phstartupweek.com/.
