DICT pledges support to Philippine startup community

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Philippines — An official of the Department of Information and Communications Technology has expressed support to the development of startup companies in the Philippines, saying this offers an opportunity to address various problems faced by the country.

In his message delivered during the opening of a conference on technology startups here on Thursday, DICT Undersecretary Monchito Ibrahim stressed the need to support innovative and creative ideas of those in the startup sector.

“We have seen no shortage of ingenuity, creativity and passion from Filipinos all over the country and all over the world,” said Ibrahim in his keynote during the 5th Geeks on a Beach conference.

“We now have the opportunity to enable the country to maintain its excellence in global ICT service delivery and enable the shift to becoming a robust digital economy,” he added.

The DICT official admitted challenges in the ICT sector, but stressed that the newly-created agency is trying to address issues such as infrastructure and connectivity for Filipinos.

“We are now faced by very dynamic changes in the ICT landscape with innovation now seen as a major economic driver for cities and nations. We welcome this challenge as we support the community in exploring how local governments can now adapt to the innovation mindset,” said Ibrahim.

“DICT will continue its efforts to support the Phl startup ecosystem as we continuously address the needs of its stakeholders,” he added.

This year’s Geeks on a Beach conference brought together some 400 participants from the government and private sector to discuss opportunities and challenges facing the technology startup companies.

Among the speakers include successful Filipinos from Silicon Valley, who discussed their experiences in working in the global center of the largest tech companies and most successful startups.

Panels featuring representatives from the government and private sector also provided a report on the state of the Philippine startup sector, as well as the different initiatives and efforts to make the environment conducive for startup companies in the country.