July, August & September 2020
Startup News Asia’s third quarter 2020 round-up of The Philippines’ startup news from July, August and September.
Each news headline listed below details a tech or startup news item from Q3 2020 connected with an aspect of The Philippines’ startup ecosystem; a Filipino startup announcing a new service, product or VC investment, or an article covering something affecting the Filipino startup ecosystem in some way, such as a government or corporate startup investment program, for instance.
The focus is obviously on Filipino startups, but technology and startup news headlines are included from the wider region and the world beyond where useful to provide points-of-reference, food for thought, and wider industry knowledge for Filipino startups.
September 2020 | August 2020 | July 2020
Filipino startup news: September 2020
- Philippines: A brief look at UnionBank’s two-way virtual currency ATM, a service allowing clients to buy and sell cryptocurrencies for fiat, the Philippine peso
- Download: Philippine Digital Transformation Strategy 2022 (pdf)
- Philippines: Central bank to publish digital bank framework in September as part of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ digital payments transformation roadmap
- Philippines: A collection of recent Filipino tech, startup and VC funding news from the past month
- Philippines: IGNITE PH tech and startup conference to run online this year across 6 days from October 13th, featuring pitch competition and more than 80 speakers
- Philippines: Edukasyon gains new funding, boosting platform allowing students to compare and apply to higher education institutions and online courses
- Philippines: JazzyPay fintech startup raises $500K from Singapore’s Cocoon Capital VC firm with medically-focused payments and invoicing solutions
- Philippines: Mosaic Solutions raises $1.5M pre-A funding with profit optimisation solutions for F&B and hospitality industries
- Philippines: Ignite 2020 Cyber conference set to run over 2 weeks in October
- Philippines: Boxer Manny Pacquiao to launch PacPay, a digital payment platform for influencers, brands and fans in partnership with Remsea remittance fintech firm
- Philippines: JazzyPay raises $500K with cashless payments solutions and business-focused unified payments platforms
- Philippines: An overview of QBO Innovation Hub’s achievements as the country’s first public-private initiative connecting and developing the tech and startup ecosystems
- Philippines: Dito Telecommunity Corp telco startup partners US cybersecurity firm Fortinet over concerns around China Telecom investment
- Philippines: Facebook removes 31 pages, 77 FB and Instagram accounts of individuals affiliated with Philippine military over coordinated inauthentic behavior
- Seamless Philippines Virtual 2020 conference set for September 30th, covering digital payments, banking tech, e-commerce, digital identity and more
- Philippines: QBO partners with Australia Government’s Investing in Women initiative for Startup Pinay, aiming to boost women entrepreneurs in the tech startup space
- Philippines: Startup Pinay initiative is open for sign-ups, with events and programs promoting the role of women and for-women entrepreneurs
- Philippines: The government’s National Cybersecurity Plan 2022 (pdf)
- Philippines: PayMongo payment processing startup gains $12M Series A, backed by Stripe and Y Combinator
- Hong Kong’s Betatron accelerator and VC firm unveil the 9 startups selected for its 6th cohort, including startups from India and the Philippines
Filipino startup news: August 2020
- Philippines: Impact Hackathon Online 2020 registrations close August 20th, focusing on sustainable digital solutions around COVID-19
- Philippines: Central bank creates committee to look at feasibility and policy implications of issuing its own digital currency, with initial study results expected September
- Philippines: A brief intro to Let’s Eat Bai in Cebu, full-service food and deliveries app
- Philippines: An intro to Edusuite, startup deploying a locally-developed cloud-based schools management system
- Philippines: A brief look at 5 fintech developments in the country in July 2020, each in some way likely to have an impact on financial inclusion
- Webinar: How can innovation, futures thinking, and cutting-edge tech unlock the potential of the Philippines government? Set for August 11th
- Philippines: A video interview intro to Connected Women, social impact startup helping Filipino women into flexible online work
- Philippines: QBO Innovation Hub accelerator unveils winning startups from RESQUE: Startups vs Covid-19 Competition, each taking home P100K
- ICYMI: Philippines Central Bank considering issuing its own digital currency, forming committee to assess feasibility and policy implications
- Philippines: Securities regulator red-flags several digital currency Ponzi schemes, cautioning investors on unauthorized schemes and operators
- Philippines Regional leg of Startup World Cup 2020 set for November 22nd – startup pitch applications now open
- ICYMI: Philippine Treasury, UnionBank and Philippine Digital Asset Exchange launched a blockchain-enabled mobile app for distributing gov’t-issued treasury bonds
- Philippines: An intro to the 10 winning startups from the recent RESQUE Startups vs COVID-19 competition
- Philippines: An advance look at Impact Hackathon 2020, set to run virtually from August 17th for one week and focusing on 5 categories for digital innovation
- Philippines: CloudCfo gains investement from US’ SEAF Women’s Opportunity Fund with tech-focused outsourced accounting, bookkeeping and finance services
- Philippines: A brief interview intro to Dragonpay, online payments platform for individuals and businesses
- Philippines: ConsenSyS selects 5 rural banks in Mindanao to trial blockchain-based real-time payments solution, potentially impacting 35M unbanked citizens
- Philippines: An intro to CheckMade, startup working on verification of online merchants to address e-commerce fraud
- Asian Development Bank approves $300M policy-based loan to aid Philippine gov’t reforms to expand access to financial services, especially in unserved and underserved areas
- Philippines: Impact Hub Manila unveils the winners of Impact Hackathon Online 2020, recent social impact-focused event
- Singapore’s Ohmyhome proptech startup launches Philippine operations, aiming to make the process of buying, selling and renting homes seamless and efficient
- Singapore’s Igloo insurtech partners Union Bank of the Philippines and Indonesia’s Akulaku for expansion of micro-insurance products
Filipino startup news: July 2020
- Philippines: State-owned Overseas Filipino Bank becomes first digital-only bank, and the country’s first branchless government bank
- Philippines: Gov’t launches Digital Cities 2025 initiative, creating and developing ICT hubs in in 25 cities outside the National Capital Region
- Philippines: tonik, the country’s first digital-only neobank, partnered by Mastercard to accelerate financial inclusion, following tonik gaining bank license
- Philippines: A livestream presentation delivered by Google Maps’ regional head on startup culture, hosted by IdeaSpace Foundation incubator and accelerator
- Philippines: First episode of StartUp Nation on YouTube, talking about the status of startups in the country, in Tagalog
- Philippines: An intro to Connected Women, training skilled and underskilled women to become data annotators, essential in any program that uses AI
- Philippines: An intro to Avion School, providing a way for Filipinos to learn software development and technical skills without upfront costs, backed by Tinder co-founder
- Philippines: A video intro to Connected Women, providing free AI training for underskilled women in partnership with UN Women
- Podcast: Saving the Philippines’ startup ecosystem in the face of COVID-19 impacts
- Philippines: KonsultaMD telehealth startup reports 450% jump in consultations from January to April in response to COVID-19
- Singapore’s SWAT Mobility partners Toyota Motor Philippines for corporate smart transportation solutions in Metro Manila
- Philippines: 77 priority sites in Northern Samar province to get free internet under Free WiFi for All project, including municipal halls and public schools
- Philippines: A look at Vonzella, social impact startup serving the under-banked by focusing on solutions for the traditional bail system
- Philippines: Pickaroo app launches with sights on being the country’s all-in-one purchase and delivery platform
- Philippines: MyKuya on-demand services startup to expand to Cavite, Pangasinan, Quezon and Zambales, pushing franchise program and aiming for further regional growth
- India’s Zeta fintech startup expands neo-bank platform-as-a-service to The Philippines and Vietnam
- An intro to 5 of the 12 startups from recently-launched Singapore Food Bowl accelerator program, focused on boosting food security
