IdeaSpace Foundation, Inc. (IdeaSpace), a privately funded incubator, makes a final call for entries to entrepreneurs with innovative technology ideas to join its startup incubation and acceleration program.
Interested applicants may go to the IdeaSpace website to read the complete rules, register and submit their entries.
Up to 10 early-stage startup teams will be chosen to undergo the incubation and acceleration program that comes with over a million pesos worth of seed funding and support including legal and intellectual property rights services, training, mentorship, office space, housing for non-Metro Manila residents and possible market runway with various IdeaSpace partner companies. Teams who successfully undergo and finish the five month program stand to receive up to Php5 million follow-through funding based on evaluation.
To enter, a team must have at least three founding members and must submit requirements to show business viability and technology proof-of-concept. Up to twenty semi-finalists will receive an outright PhP50K grant, business registration assistance and participation in a bootcamp to further refine their plan and prototype prior to the final judging round. For this year, startups from Southeast Asia may also enter as IdeaSpace recognizes the prominence and relevance of the region in the global startup scene.
“We encourage anyone with a fresh tech idea and the willingness to take the entrepreneurial risk to join our program. It’s a great opportunity especially now that there’s a lot of growth and interest in the emerging market startups space in the region. “said Earl Martin S. Valencia, IdeaSpace president and corporate development and strategy head at Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart), one of the companies backing the foundation.
IdeaSpace runs an incubator and accelerator program to support technology entrepreneurs in the Philippines and for the global market through partnerships between the MVP Group of companies and global IT companies.
A non-profit foundation, it is supported by the First Pacific, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., MPIC hospital group, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, Meralco, Smart Communications Inc., Digitel, Sun Cellular, SPI Global, ePLDT, Indofood, Philex Mining, First Pacific Leadership Academy, Maynilad, MediaQuest, and TV5.
These companies contributed P500 million funding for the foundation for five years, the largest private sector commitment for technology entrepreneurship in the country.
Last year, ten companies entered the inaugural incubation program of IdeaSpace and all successfully participated in November at the culminating Demo Day to prospective investors. About half of the first batch of participants received follow through funding. Among the startups that have graduated from last year’s incubation program include PinoyTravel which was awarded Startup of the Year by the IT Journalists Association of the Philippines and TimeFree, an enterprise queuing management startup that has sealed multi-million peso contracts in the Philippines and Southeast Asian region.
Deadline for submission of entries is on Jan. 15. Winners will be announced in April 2014.
