Manila ranking dips in top 100 global startup ecosystems

MANILA, Philippines — Manila remained in the top 100 emerging startup ecosystems in this year’s Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER), but it ranked lower compared to last year.

Policy advisory and research organization Startup Genome’s GSER 2021 showed Manila placed within the 91-100 rank in the top 100 emerging startup ecosystems or those at earlier stages of growth and have high potential to be top global performers in the coming years.

In last year’s GSER, Manila was within the 31-40 rank of the top 100 emerging ecosystems.

Southeast Asian emerging ecosystems that ranked higher than Manila are Jakarta which placed third, Kuala Lumpur (21-30), Ho Chi Minh (61-70) and Bangkok (71-80).

GSER, the most comprehensive and widely read research on startups, ranked the top 30 global startup ecosystems and runner-ups, as well the top 100 emerging ecosystems.

The top 100 emerging ecosystems were ranked by looking at performance, funding, market reach and talent.

The report showed Manila was among the top 30 Asian ecosystems in terms of performance, with the value of its startup ecosystem at $584 million, and $101 million in total early-stage funding.

Among the strengths of the Manila startup ecosystem is having affordable talent or the ability to hire technology talent.

The GSER also cited the growing use of mobile banking or financial technology, as well as e-commerce in the country amid government support.

The country has policies in place such as the Philippine Innovation Act and the Innovative Startup Act which aim to boost the country’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Earlier this year, the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act was signed into law to enhance the country’s attractiveness to investments by making incentives more competitive and innovation focused.

Last May, the Department of Trade and Industry launched the artificial intelligence (AI) roadmap to position the country as an AI center of excellence.

Following the release of the GSER 2021, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to improve the performance of the Philippine startup ecosystem.

“We are moving forward in finalizing the structure that will allow us to maximize the utilization and effectiveness of the Startup Venture Fund that we are allocating for the development of start-up venture in the country,” he said.

Under the Innovative Startup Act, the SVF will be set up to be administered by DTI’s attached agency National Development Co. and used for matching investments by selected investors in startups in the country.

“Despite setbacks due to COVID-19, startups remain a catalyst for innovation. Leveraging on our strengths, the Philippines will continue to support startups by reducing barriers to entrepreneurship and providing the right conditions to boost their entrepreneurial potential,” DTI Undersecretary Rafaelita Aldaba said.