High-impact tech startups get boost from INQBATION Startup Showcase 2019

QBO Innovation Hub, J.P. Morgan team up to find startups elevating PH startup landscape

Photo 1: Filipino startups making a difference. Department of Science and Technology Secretary Fortunato de la Peña (middle) graced the recently held INQBATION Startup Showcase, an initiative of QBO Innovation Hub in partnership with J.P. Morgan where 15 high-impact startups showcased their ideas and stories of success.

There is no problem too difficult for a plucky startup with a purpose.

Startups have gained increasing recognition for offering solutions to problems, and startups in the Philippines are no exception. Tech startups that are leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning capabilities are also gaining ground, with some setting their sights on regional expansion even in the early years of their inception.

Kumu, a livestream and community platform, which only started last year, has exhibited an explosive 2000% growth rate since it started. The app has been downloaded almost one million times and is currently the only Filipino company to be included in Google Play’s Top 10 grossing social apps. Roland Ros, the company’s co-founder, shared that revenue has been exponentially growing 300% quarter on quarter, as it has found a way to monetize global Filipino millennial and Gen Z users. Hundreds of content creators are now earning part time income on the app as well, with a growing base of full-time creators earning as much as 50,000 pesos a month.

Senti, a data and sentiment analysis platform, started as a one-man university research project that sought to better understand local jargon and dialects. The company has since grown to become one of the most highly-recognized AI and natural language processing companies in the Philippines. Ralph Regalado’s brainchild is now home to half of the country’s Google Developer experts and is helping to create high-value tech jobs in the lucrative AI field in the Philippines. Senti has since expanded to Singapore and Malaysia because of its success.

Another startup that has made a positive impact is Investagrams, a social fintech platform which helps Filipinos invest in the stock market through in-app tutorials, virtual trading, social networking, and other tools designed to make investing in equities more accessible, easy and fun. Only three years old, Investagrams now has over 360,000 users. Investagrams caters not only to seasoned traders and investors but also to regular Filipinos, from millennials to retirees, and even overseas workers seeking to increase the value of their savings. The startup also regularly conducts programs on financial literacy and equities investing that has attracted thousands of participants, with the goal of increasing participation in the stock market among Filipinos (currently at less than 1%) to at least 5% in the next five years. The fintech startup founder and CEO John Christian Bisnar announced that the company is expanding to Singapore.

Kumu, Senti, and Investagrams, along with 12 other startups, are just some of the rising stars in the Filipino startup scene featured in INQBATION Startup Showcase 2019.

“The INQBATION Startup Showcase draws attention to awesome Filipino startups that are creating innovative and scalable solutions for real world problems, and we hope that investors, corporations and partners across the globe will take notice,” said Katrina Chan, Director of QBO. “The startups we featured today grew with QBO and J.P. Morgan through the INQBATION program and are creating tremendous impact. We’re glad to give them the spotlight they deserve and invite more partners to join us in uplifting our burgeoning local startup community.”

The event is organized by QBO Innovation Hub, a platform for the startup community to collaborate, develop talent, and grow, that was created through the joint effort of the Department of Science and Technology, the Department of Trade and Industry, IdeaSpace, and J.P. Morgan.

“It was a privilege and a pleasure to help create opportunities for these startups,” said Carlos Ma. G. Mendoza, Senior Country Officer for J.P. Morgan Philippines. “We are proud to have supported this program as it enabled small businesses and positively impacted underserved communities.”

“The vision for this program is for QBO and J.P. Morgan, as well as other partners, to open up more opportunities for startups and founders to grow,” explained Rene “Butch” Meily, President of QBO. “We want to give people who are creating scalable, positive impact through their startups a better shot at success.”

Photo 2: INQBATION Startup Showcase 2019, an initiative championed by QBO Innovation Hub and J.P. Morgan, provides startups with access to resources, mentorship, and network to help them scale up their business. Photo shows from left to right: INQBATION Startup Showcase Program Lead Ross Fallorina; Kumu President Rexy Dorado; Washub head of Operations Brean Abrea; OneWatt Chief Technology Officer Paolo Samontanez; Learntalk Managing Director Nicolo Luccini; DTI-EMB Assistant Director Agnes Legaspi; Streetby CEO Rhey Minoza; DOST- PCIEERD Senior Science Research Specialist Engr. Edward Paul Apigo; MAD Travel Co-founder Rafael Dionisio; DTI-EMB Director Senen Perlada; J.P. Morgan Philippines Head of Communications Patricia Anne Javier-Gutierrez; QBO President Rene “Butch” Meily; J.P. Morgan Philippines Senior Country Officer Carlos Ma. G. Mendoza; QBO Director Katrina Chan; Investagrams CEO JC Bisnar; Lexmeet CEO Atty. Marlon Valderama; Exora COO Matt Tan; Payo CEO Liron Gross; Senti CEO Ralph Regalado; Container Living Lead Innovator Mac Evangelista; Pushkart.ph CEO Joshua Aragon; and QBO Head of Operations Natasha Bautista.

Meily added that by showcasing startups that have the potential to change lives as well as succeed as a business, they hope to get more companies and institutions to realize the value of supporting local startup ecosystem.

Aside from the startups mentioned, the showcase also featured AdMov, Cropital, Pushkart.ph, Exora, Learntalk, OneWatt, Payo, Lexmeet, Streetby, Washub, Container Living, and MAD Travel.

QBO said that it will continue to support startups in different ways including INQBATION, an acceleration program where the country’s most promising but underserved startup founders receive mentorship, training, exposure, resources and other support tailor fit to their needs. The INQBATION program was created in order to help highly promising Filipino tech startup companies scale up, fundraise and become globally competitive-- in the process generating jobs, developing the technology sector and creating impact. 

QBO envisions more organizations becoming more involved with Filipino startup companies— whether as mentors, investors, or customers—and being able to help more local startups attain success.

For more information about the INQBATION Startup Showcase 2019, visit https://www.qbo.com.ph/incubation/.

Hone the next big startup with QBO’s Startup Roadshow

The multi-city roadshow aims to level up tech startups, small businesses all over the country

The future of Philippine startups looks bright with the Philippines national ranking up by 16 positions, according to the recently released StartupBlink Ecosystem Ranking Report. To continue this momentum, QBO Innovation Hub, the Philippines’ first public-private sector initiative which aims to connect, transform, and empower Filipino startups, holds the Startup Roadshow starting this May.

The roadshow aims to inspire innovators and enable communities throughout the country through sessions on startup business concepts and tools, ideation, design thinking, business model canvas, and local ecosystem mapping. Facilitated by highly experienced QBO members and startup founders, the workshops are designed to be fun and engaging to spark the participants’ creativity as they kickoff their startup journey. The event also features panel discussions and networking opportunities for those wanting to connect with fellow tech leaders.

“The local startup ecosystem continues to grow due to sustained confidence in the country’s economy, technological advancements, and newly-introduced regulations such as the ‘Innovative Startup Act’ which seeks to promote ease of doing business in the Philippines,” says Katrina Chan, Director of QBO Innovation Hub. “While it’s all helpful in creating a healthy business environment for Filipino entrepreneurs, there are more opportunities to bring cutting-edge ideas to life.”

This is the second time that QBO Innovation Hub is holding the roadshow across major cities in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. In 2018, 13 cities and over 1,300 participants joined the first run of the roadshow. Government organizations signed partnerships with QBO to contribute to countryside development efforts. The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) was among the first to get on board, sponsoring programs in 7 cities last year.

QBO hopes to make this year’s roadshow bigger through the support of more partners, communities, and business owners. Interested partners who want to bring the workshop to their respective communities, schools, or cities can host an introductory workshop using QBO’s set module. Partners wanting to learn specific skills or learn more about certain topics can have custom-made workshops as well.

“We saw the impact of last year’s roadshow in answering what most aspiring startup founders want to know: ‘Where do we start?’ We want to help them figure out the answer,” adds Chan. “We’d also like for more partners to come on board with us to help discover the next wave of homegrown startups that will put our country on the global innovation map. Who knows? The next big thing may be in your school, your community, or your city.”

To learn more about the Startup Roadshow, visit http://www.qbo.com.ph/ and https://www.facebook.com/QBOphilippines/ or email karla@qbo.com.ph.

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About QBO

QBO (‘ku-bo’) is an innovation hub or a platform for the startup community to collaborate, develop talent, and grow. It provides startups with support and resources through events and capacity building programs as well as focused interventions designed to improve access to markets, knowledge, capital, and talent. QBO is the country’s first public-private initiative for startups, created through a partnership between IdeaSpace, J.P. Morgan, Department of Science and Technology, and Department of Trade and Industry.

Spurred on by the vision of Filipinos startups changing the world, QBO’s mission is to create a globally competitive startup ecosystem in the Philippines.