IdeaSpace hosts interns from prestigious US, Phl schools

MANILA, Philippines -A number of students from renowned schools in the United States and the Philippines have been accepted into the IdeaSpace Foundation’s internship program and are interfacing closely with Philippine startups.

The interns (in phxoto) from Harvard University, Stanford University, Fordham University, Duke University, and the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) say they are impressed by the IdeaSpace incubatees’ passion for developing potential solutions to some of the country’s problems.

“Many of the startups I’ve seen are in it not just for the money. They work to solve problems. In the Philippines, definitely there’s energy in the startup scene. More people are trying to get into the space,” said Dennis Negron from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

“Not all startups have rich access to mentors, though. This is where companies and organizations like IdeaSpace can bring huge value,” he added.

Founded last year, IdeaSpace runs an incubator program that aims to support technology entrepreneurs in the Philippines and for the global market through funding, mentorship, market runway, and partnerships among local and global companies and venture firms. IdeaSpace has taken 14 local startups under its wing, 10 of which were chosen from more than 600 groups that joined last year’s nationwide search for IdeaSpace incubatees.

A non-profit foundation, IdeaSpace is supported by the following companies: First Pacific, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., MPIC hospital group, PLDT, Meralco, Smart Communications, Digitel, Sun Cellular, ePLDT, Indofood, Philex Mining, Maynilad, MediaQuest, and TV5. With half a billion pesos in funding for five years, IdeaSpace is the largest private sector commitment for technology entrepreneurship in the country.

“IdeaSpace definitely made it easier for startups to jumpstart their businesses. They get help in matters such as filing patents, and in getting connections,” said Jacqueline Candelaria, an MBA student at AIM.

Most of the IdeaSpace interns are taking up business-related courses so they are tasked to help the startups conduct market analysis, build a product strategy, and create marketing and growth plans, among others.

Prakesh Enair, also of AIM, observed that many of the IdeaSpace incubatees do not have a business background. “With the help of IdeaSpace, they can now see the other side of the spectrum. They are very eager to learn about the business side of things. We interns learn a lot from them as well.”

“We get a lot from the experience because we’re not exposed to just one aspect of business. We learn the legal side, financials, marketing, and even people management,” said incoming Harvard freshman Akshar Bonu.

“We are glad to see that our incubatees and interns mutually benefit from IdeaSpace’s internship program. We are also happy to see students traveling all the way from the United States to learn more about Philippine startups. It shows how interesting and promising the Philippine startup scene is,” said IdeaSpace president Earl Valencia.