IdeaSpace 2016 Startup Competition Launched! Make Your Dream Company A Reality!

IdeaSpace Foundation, the leading early stage technology startup incubator and accelerator in the Philippines, just announced that they opened their annual startup competition now in its 4th year. With that, interesting parties may now start submitting their company worthy startup ideas that started last January 21, 2016.

IdeaSpace today announced the opening of its 2016 Startup Competition, which will accept entries until March 18, 2016. The leading early-stage technology incubator and accelerator likewise revealed the new equity-free fund that will benefit startups in the Philippines. In photo are (from left) Goldy Chu Yancha, Associate Director for Business Development and Partnerships; Diane Eustaquio, Executive Director; Joshua de la Llana, co-founder of Tactiles, one of IdeaSpace’s previous startup-incubatees; and Dustin Masancay, Associate Director for Advocacy and Marketing.

A new format

This time, IdeaSpace startup competition also boast a new structure that focuses on providing equity-free funding and support to competition winners so that winners can focus on pursuing their innovative ideas and make that vision a reality. Ideaspace will no longer have equity in each startup that they'll incubate and accelerate.

“Ever since IdeaSpace was founded, we have declared our belief that Filipino entrepreneurs can turn their innovative startup ideas into reality and make it big on the world stage as long as there is an ecosystem to support them,” said Diane Eustaquio, Executive Director at IdeaSpace.

“With this new equity-free funding structure, IdeaSpace strengthens its commitment to the local startup ecosystem to bring out the most socially relevant innovations that can help solve pressing problems of the world, particularly in emerging economies such as the Philippines,” she added.

Ideas from across the country, region

Top twenty ideas from the best of the best in the country will be screened by an esteemed panel of judges. Those 20 startup dreams will enter incubation will be announced this July 5, 2016. Then at least 10 of them will enter the acceleration phase starting August 1, 2016.

The stakes are also higher this time, everyone who'll be part of the acceleration phase will have access to up to 1 million Pesos funding that includes 500,000 Pesos in cash and the rest are non cash benefits such as housing, transportation, incorporation, office space, communication, software support, training and classes, as well as mentoring from executives under the First Pacific group of companies.

Additional info

As one of the formidable technology incubators and accelerators in the country, IdeaSpace has helped give birth to about 38 startups over the last four years as part of its half a billion-peso funding that was instituted in 2012.

Some of the program’s most notable alumni include: SALt, a startup that has developed an innovative saltwater lamp and was featured during the recent APEC Summit 2015 in Manila; PinoyTravel, a startup which helps solve provincial bus reservation woes of commuters; Mobkard, which helps consumers save on purchases through discounts and promos; and Tactiles, which developed an educational toy that helps children learn electronics while playing, among many others. 

IdeaSpace is supported by the following companies: First Pacific, First Pacific Leadership Academy, Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC), Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation, MPIC hospital group, PLDT, Meralco, Smart Communications, Inc., Digitel Mobile Philippines and its mobile brand Sun Cellular, SPI Global, ePLDT, Indofood, Philex Mining, Maynilad, MediaQuest, and TV5. To know more about IdeaSpace, visit www.ideaspacefoundation.org.

I'm sure that's enough motivation to make your dream company a reality! IdeaSpace is there to make it happen. All those interested groups and individuals need to do is visit apply.ideaspacefoundation.org to fill up the form and submit their startup ideas for evaluation until March 18, 2016. 

Submissions from around the Philippines, as well as in the Southeast Asian region, are welcome.