5 reasons to start a company in the Philippines
The Southeast Asia is a key player when it comes to startups. It’s a market of 600 million people, a third of which in one country alone, with 17000 islands. But the Philippines is a stand out.
It’s a fast-growing middle-class region, with 24% of the Philippine population in this category as of 2013. Dubbed as the social media and selfie capital of the world by Times, Philippines has the fastest smartphone penetration.
You’re not alone to find it difficult to position this land on a map, as it is still quite unexplored by many. The opportunity to launch a business in the country is huge. Here are 5 good reasons to start up a business in the country:
It’s more fun in the Philippines!
This official campaign of the tourism board of the Philippines says quite a lot. The entrepreneurial spirit of Asians is truly infectious.
The Philippines is an amazing melting-pot of an Asian-Pacific set of islands, which has been conquered by the Spanish, freed from the Japanese later on by the Americans, and with a huge diaspora across the world.
The result is a very social and friendly culture, where karaoke, laughter and time for friends are omnipresent. As innovation often comes from diversity, you could not dream of a country with more different faces and cultures and acquiescence to new changes.
Growth is firm in the Philippines!
With the second best performing economy of Asia behind China, the Philippines is doing well. Their GDP recorded 6.5% growth in the fourth quarter of 2013, compared to 7.7% for China (IBT)
The exports of the country are also amazing, with the top chunk held by Electronic products, far beyond the bananas people think too often of.
The stock market also increased its main index by 61% over the last two years.
It’s archeologically empire-building in the Philippines!
If the history of the Silicon Valley or Israel is better known than the one of the Philippines, you can still find a lot of examples testifying their entrepreneurial spirit:
The country opened its Asia’s first University back in 1611. The University of Santo Tomas was set up by the Catholic, and it is still boasting some 42000 students as of 2013.
It carved the first rice terraces some 2000 years ago with an advanced irrigation system to drive water from the rainforests.
It resisted the Spanish invasion, with Lapu-Lapu, the omni-present soldier statue you can see in Cebu Island, being then recognized as “the first Filipino”, back in the 16th century.
It survived wars and typhoons, and has rebuilt the country after each catastrophe.
It is preparing a Startup Bill which many compares to a move as bold as the one made by Chile a few years ago (with Startup Chile being now a world famous program for foreign entrepreneurs).
It’s innovative in the Philippines!
The local startup scene in the Philippines is recognized to be leading innovation in two important fields:
Bitcoin and crypto-currencies, as the regulations are light when it comes to these new virtual currencies, and as their huge diaspora need a better way to send money back home. A few American startup-ers came intently to know how the Philippines bitcoin community was faring.
Social enterprise, as 62% of the population lives with less than three dollar per day. This population, called “the bottom of the pyramid”, is often referred to as a market as people there still have ways to consume goods and services. A social enterprise such as Rags to Riches in Manila, offers an e-commerce platform for craft made by remote populations.
These two fields are key innovation drivers where the Philippines can lead the way.
The startup network is vigorous in the Philippines!
The Philippines has its own main tech event and international hackathons and competition such as Seedstars World or AngelHack, training and mentoring centers. The Digital ICT Congress in Pangasinan is now on its 4th year tapping huge universities and institution in the entire province.
It’s definitely vivifying to visit the tech scenes of the Philippines, both in Cebu, and Pangasinan, an island better known for its nature spots.
With a unique positioning between Asia, the Pacific, and the United States, this is a big 100 million people country not to forget about. (Louie dela Vega/FOCUS)
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