Starting a business isn’t always easy, especially with so much competition out there. However, when there is heart involved, your passion will really shine through and others might be able to see that and, in turn, support your business. One of the best traits of (some) Filipinos is that they care about their countrymen and this shine through in these Filipino startups that you might not know about yet. Check them out:
32 Filipino Startups That Will Make You Proud to be Pinoy
32. Cashalo
https://www.facebook.com/CashaloPH
Cashalo was created for millions of underserved and underbanked Filipinos to have a reliable partner for cash loans and credit. It is a mobile app that can help you in times of emergencies and urgent needs, as well as empower you for your aspirations. It is designed for Filipinos by Filipinos. The app’s name itself is a combination of two words: Cash and Kasalo, which means “to have a partner for your finances”. A BSP study showed that over 53 million Filipinos have no access to any formal financial account of any kind. Seeing this huge gap made Cashalo realize the opportunity to build a widely accessible platform that will enable millions of Filipinos with no credit history to start building their financial identities.
Cashalo has pioneered a number of first-ever online consumer financing products in PH, such as basket financing and airline ticket financing. Their basket financing product “Shop Now & Pay Later” allows shoppers at their partner stores to shop for multiple items at as low as 0% installments. Their airline ticket financing product “Fly Now & Pay Later” allows travelers to pay for their local flights with Cebu Pacific Air in installments. Part of Cashalo’s mission is to nurture Filipinos’ financial well-being. As such, they launched a national financial literacy platform called Cash Academy to educate Filipinos on the best ways to manage their finances responsibly.
31. Southside Studios, @southsidestudiosph
Recently turned one year old, Southside Studios is a creative studio in the South – anything from video production all the way up to graphics work, photography, animation and sound design. Before it started, Miguel Bautista was working as a freelance director and videographer, and things were pretty good. He had a stable source of projects and a growing network pool of connections. A couple of his creative friends in the same field of work weren’t getting as many projects as they wanted, though, and it turns out that a lot of South creatives travel to the North just to make ends meet. “Then it struck me,” he shares. “Why not create our own studio, and help build the South? It would be a lot of work and sleepless nights but at the end of the day, I wouldn’t have done it any other way.”
30. So Asian Comics, @soasiancomics
https://www.facebook.com/SoAsianComics
So Asian Comics is an online webcomic created by Kimberly Mas and Cedric Cheng. It started out as a joke that eventually became a passion project in the summer of 2017. They basically author and illustrate Filipino-Chinese comics, aiming to highlight their culture and heritage with the world and make it relevant in today’s society. The comic has been awarded a couple of times in various events and has even expanded into merchandise and online content creation.
Kimberly and Cedric bring different skill sets in the creation of comic. Kimberly is a skilled inker, hence she does the black outlining of the various characters in the comic, while Cedric is known for his color combinations and background illustrations, hence he does the coloring, shading, and backdrops for each comic. The ideation of each comic is a team process, where they both observe their family and friends, recall past personal experiences, and listen to others’ stories to take notes for future comic ideas.
29. Pink Lemon Wear
Pink Lemon Wear started out as a penchant for online shopping and Bangkok fashion. It ended up being the inspiration behind Pink Lemon Wear, which started out in 2016 and has been operating and growing ever since.
ENBOX Corp, is in the barbershop business that started at 2015 and got incorporated at 2018.Founded by Kenneth Pumarega, Edward Cheng, and Rod Delfin with its 1st branch at Elephant’s Nook in Pearl Drive, Ortigas City. They have expanded to Ilo-Ilo City, Namely, Ilustrado Barbers & Basement Cuts and a branch in San Juan City., West Lmtd. They are with personalising our expansion based on its location to better connect with its immediate market. We make sure that we maintain the consistency in service throughout all and future branches.
28. ENBOX Corp
ENBOX Corp. wants to level up the haircutting culture in the Philippines by providing the complete men’s grooming experience. With the success of their first branch, Elephant’s Nook, they wanted to expand their operations effectively while maintaining its quality service. Each new branch of Enbox Corp has a personalized brand and design to complement its location, and to create the “local” brand affinity.
“We’re excited with the our partnership with Solecare PH, one of the pioneer in sneaker laundry, sneakers customization and restoration,” they share. West Lmtd and Basement Cuts opened the first sneaker laundry and barbershop concept in San Juan City and Iloilo City with Solecare PH. They’re looking at opening three more branches by the end of 2020.
27. The Sliding Door Company, @slidingdoorsasiapacific
https://www.facebook.com/SlidingDoorsAsiaPacific
The Sliding Door Company is 14 years old in the United States, and it established its first international office in the Philippines 3 years ago, where it is in charge of the Asia Pacific region. The Sliding Door Company Asia Pacific gained traction in the Philippine market when it secured Okada Manila as one of its first clients, delivering 2,000 panels in 60 days. They manufacture customized interior glass solutions to homes, offices, and hotels. They have the USA patent on the mechanism, contribute to LEED points, are PWD compliant, are sustainable, and have a 10-year warranty – something that apparently no other company can offer in the market!
26. Agape Design Studio, @agapedesignph
https://www.facebook.com/AgapeDesignPH
Agape Design Studio is a boutique design studio focused on branding and social media. For three years now, they have been helping people achieve their business’ goals through thoughtful strategy and relevant design. Agape means ‘God’s love’. They firmly believe that their business’ success and the fact that it even exists is only through God’s love and grace and they always want to be reminded of that. It also inspires them to do their best for their clients and to treat every project with the same commitment and patience.
Agape started as a means for the owner to step out of their 9-6 job as an Art Director and pursue the type of work that they truly loved: branding. “I’ve always believed that design is much more than creating something that is visually attractive, but can also be used to solve problems and create an impact on people’s lives, and I was able to exercise this the most through branding work.” After posting their best works on Facebook and getting an overwhelming response from their network, they immediately landed three branding projects and referrals kept on coming as a result of those initial projects.
25. transitflix
https://www.facebook.com/transitflix
transitflix is a platform where brands can launch personalized advertising campaigns on screens inside transit vehicles to people stuck in traffic via facial recognition. Geoff Mabasa, the founder, says he got the idea for the business while stuck in traffic as a Grab passenger. “I was stuck there for two hours and I wasn’t doing anything except for being on my phone and then sometimes sleeping,” Geoff shares. “So I was thinking, why aren’t we utilizing this space in order for us to deliver and tell a story? That’s how I came up with transitflix.”
transitflix’s goal is to help advertisers lodge effective and efficient transit advertising campaigns by digitizing the way they talk to people stuck in traffic. Aside from winning this year’s ‘The Final Pitch, they were also selected as the Philippine delegates for Taiwan’s biggest tech conference: InnoVEX and Asia’s biggest tech conference: RISEConf by the Philippine government besting more than 100 more applicants. They are also representing the Philippines as the government representative for Digital Thailand Big Bang 2019.
24. Handstitch Manila, @handstitch.mnl
https://www.facebook.com/handstitch.mnl
Handstitch Manila, which makes customized genuine leather products, fully started in September 2017 with little knowledge of leather crafting and only basic tools at hand. It started as a simple college project making handmade leather bags. Since they were so satisfied with the results and already had the basic tools needed, they tried to make small stuff with the remaining leather, such as coin purses and cable wrap holders. After that, their relatives and friends started ordering, and the rest is history.
23. PetSnaps
PetSnaps is a premier photography studio in Pasig City that specializes in pet and pet family portraits. It has a team of photographers dedicated to capture furfect moments for keeps. PetSnaps opened its physical store in August 2019, welcoming all sorts of pets—dogs, cats, hamsters, and even aquatic and reptile pets. It is owned by three motorcycle, pet, and photography enthusiasts.
Their common interest and love for pets and photography emerged as a business idea—that is how PetSnaps was born. Its first branch is in Tiendesitas Ortigas East, Pasig City with plans to expand to the South of the Metro in early 2020. Further branches are also in the pipeline.
Check out more on the next page!
