IdeaSpace supports foray of Startup Labs to the Philippines

Global early stage program plans trip to Manila in February, registration now open. Startup Labs, a global co-investment program for tech startups that focuses on emerging markets is going to the Philippines this February and it has tied up with IdeaSpace Foundation, Inc.(IdeaSpace) and other local investment groups to explore, evaluate and invest in startups from the Philippines.

Aside from IdeaSpace, other investment partners that will be evaluating opportunities include Siemer & Associates, ICCP Venture Partners and local angels. Startup Labs travels to emerging markets to discover the most promising early stage tech startups, invest in them with local investors, and explore various cross-border opportunities. Startup Labs gathers and empowers  local investors to create the funding startups need in order to take advantage of growth opportunities in emerging economies and also create and attract a strong deal flow.

Startup Labs also builds strategic alliances with prominent businesses in each region, as well as meeting with key influencers in the area who are driving innovation. Startup Labs portfolio companies have access to these influencers, learn about growth markets, challenges, and opportunities, as well as exploring cross-border expansion opportunities. For 2013, Startup Labs has plans to visit over 25 cities on four continents and gather at least 100 local investors together to invest in +125 startups around the world.

The deadline for registering for the Philippine program is January 20th and the pitching sessions are scheduled for the first week of February. Those who are  interested in this exceptional opportunity are urged to apply at: http://www.startuplabs.org/philippines.html

Startup Labs Director, Tugce Ergul, had this to say, “I am very excited to be bringing Startup Labs to Philippines. I find Philippines to be a very exciting market with a lot of potential especially once the entire ecosystem and investors are aligned. We will be mixing the local investors’ expertise with a global Silicon Valley and the Philippine context. The ecosystem is very young and there’s a lot of market fragmentation but this only makes things more exciting for us.”

“It’s a good time for tech startups in the Philippines and this collaboration with Startup Labs is another opportunity for local technopreneurs to pilot in the Philippines and scale to the world. IdeaSpace is continuously building synergies with international groups like Startup Labs to help foster this ecosystem. ” said Earl Martin Valencia, IdeaSpace president.

Startup Labs focuses mainly on emerging markets and co-invests with the top local investors in respective markets while operating post-investment bootcamps with top mentors. They enable companies to succeed in ways other venture firms do not by building a global platform for all teams and investors. Their goal is to help early stage startups succeed and accelerate their growth with capital and support from influencers.

Startup Labs is a global seed stage investment fund aiming to disrupt the startup scene by reinventing the traditional incubation process and helping companies launch in various countries. Startup Labs is focused mainly on emerging markets and co-invests with the top local investors in respective markets while operating post-investment bootcamps with top mentors. Startup Labs is open to all investors andall teams may apply.

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. It recently closed submission for its 1st national competition for startup ideas where up to ten winners will receive PhP5 million worth of investments.

A non-profit foundation, it is supported by the following companies: First Pacific, First Pacific Leadership Academy, Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC), Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC), MPIC hospital group, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), Meralco, Smart Communications, Inc (Smart), Digitel, Sun Cellular, SPI Global, ePLDT, Indofood, Philex Mining, Maynilad, MediaQuest, and TV5. The companies all contributed half a billion pesos funding for five years for the foundation, the largest private sector commitment for technology entrepreneurship in the country.

More info: http://www.startuplabs.org/about.html