The Philippines is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. It’s GDP growth is expected to grow by 4.1% in 2021 and 5.5% in 2022. With many accelerators, incubator programs and government policies this small country is transforming itself into a startup ecosystem hub with increasing opportunities for business in a variety of industries. Philippines is attracting a lot of attention from potential investors. This country continues to put focus on developing a stable and rewarding startup ecosystem.
The Philippines provides entrepreneurs and startups with a stable economy, a motivated workforce, and supportive government policies. The Philippine Innovation Act and the Innovative Startup Act introduced by the Philippines government have provided small businesses and startups with access to funding, better trade opportunities, removing barriers that may hinder their growth. This is allowing for further development and creating a more competitive advantage for startups in the country. We have also compiled a list of active angel investors who are spearheading Philippines tech renaissance.
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Top 25 Startups to Watch in Philippines
1. Great Deals E-Commerce
Great Deals E-Commerce is the leading e-distributor in the Philippines, catering multinational brands. Addressing the needs of the brands in advancing online. Adapting to the e-commerce growth in the country, Great Deals E-commerce delivers end-to-end opportunities to reach the fullest potential of the brand’s e-commerce capabilities.
Industry: E-Commerce
Founders: Steve Sy
Total Funding: $41.3M
Founded Date: 2017
2. GrowSari
GrowSari started in 2016 as an ordering platform servicing roughly sari-sari stores in three cities. It is a tech-enabled B2B platform that helps the Philippines’ over one million sari-sari stores get better service level, assortment, and access to new services, outfitting them with both the infrastructure and tools they need to transform themselves from simple FMCG outlets to comprehensive service hubs for the nation’s grassroots communities.
Industry: E-Commerce, Internet.
Founders: Andrzej Ogonowski, ER Rollan, Shiv Choudhury.
Total Funding: $14M
Founded Date: 2016
3. First Circle
First Circle exists to radically improve the course of opportunity for SMEs across South East Asia and to help business owners achieve growth beyond their wildest dreams; to expand their First Circle past their family and friends. Trusted by the Philippine government, First Circle is the official Finance Partner of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
Industry: Fin-Tech
Founders: Jorrit Koop, Patrick Lynch, Tonny Enis.
Total Funding: $28.5M
Founded Date: 2015
4. Kumu
Kumu was founded in 2017 by Rexy Josh Dorado and Roland Navarro de Ros. Kumu is a social entertainment platform that aims to amplify Filipino creativity, community, and commerce. Kumu has features like personal and group chat, live shows, quizzes, and online content streaming.
Industry: Social Media
Founders: Rexy Josh Dorado, Roland Navarro.
Total Funding: $21.6M
Founded Date: 2017
5. PayMongo
PayMongo is a payment processing startup that provides a payments API that can be integrated into mobile applications or websites. PayMongo is providing modern payments for forward-thinking businesses. It aims to become the invisible engine of commerce that gives everyone the opportunity to participate and succeed in the rapidly transforming digital economy.
Industry: Fin-Tech.
Founders: Edwin Lacierda, Francis Plaza, Jaime Hing.
Total Funding: $14.7M
Founded Date: 2019
6. Uploan
Uploan is an innovative Fintech company based in Singapore and operating in the Philippines that provides employee benefits that transform lives. Uploan operates on a unique B2B2C lending model within the enterprise companies sector of the Philippines. Uploan is a product and data driven organization, leveraging employment history and HR data to provide the under-banked with better financial options.
Industry: Financial Services.
Founders: Benoit Portoleau-Balloy, Liam Grealish,
Total Funding: $25.6M
Founded Date: 2017
7. Acudeen Technologies
Acudeen Technologies is a P2P marketplace for receivables discounting. The service Acudeen provides through facilitating an invoice factoring procedure is a dynamic solution that can be utilized to improve and develop companies to help reach business potential. The quality of the service is backed by a robust framework embedded on consumer satisfaction and experience.
Industry: Financial Services, Service Industry.
Founders: Mario Jordan Fetalino, Mario Salazar.
Total Funding: $6.8M
Founded Date: 2016
8. CloudEats
CloudEats operates cloud kitchens and in-house restaurant brands. Its cloud kitchens are in non-retail and cost-efficient spaces, with operations and layouts specifically designed for food delivery. All food brands are available on all food delivery platforms including Grab Food, Foodpanda and Lalafood.
Industry: Food Delivery.
Founders: Kimberly Yao.
Total Funding: $1.6M
Founded Date: 2019
9. GoodWork
GoodWork is the largest app for home services in the Philippines. They help customers to get affordable and high-quality services like home cleaning, laundry, home repairs, and home spa services, and they empower skilled service workers to increase their monthly earnings.
Industry: E-Commerce, Software.
Founders: Andrew Koger.
Total Funding: $1.6M
Founded Date: 2018
10. SquidPay
SquidPay is a rising payment solutions company that aims to provide a convenient way of electronic payment and collection through a stored value card and mobile application. SquidPay maximizes users buying power by giving maximum discounts and rebates as users commute, Pay bills, purchase goods and services.
Industry: Fin-Tech
Founders: Marvin Dela Cruz.
Total Funding: $2M
Founded Date: 2020
11. Bitshareslabs
Bitshares Labs Inc. was founded in 2019 by Jan Emmet Yngson. It is a Philippine based Start-up which aims to promote, train and develop apps on top of the Bitshares Blockchain. Bitshares Labs provides blockchain technology integration, web and mobile application development and training services.
Industry: Blockchain, Cryptocurrency.
Founders: Jan Emmet Yngson
Total Funding: $1.6M
Founded Date: 2019
12. Prosperna
Prosperna was founded in 2018 by Dennis Velasco. It is the leading E-Commerce platform for SMEs in the Philippines. Prosperna provides a SaaS platform with everything an SME needs to market, sell, accept online payments and fulfill their products and services.
Industry: E-Commerce, SaaS.
Founders: Dennis Velasco
Total Funding: $555K
Founded Date: 2018
13. Flixberry
Flixberry was founded in 2017 by Dionelou Pallega and Dionrich Pallega. It is a media company, involved primarily in the production, creation, distribution and marketing of all forms of entertainment and their related businesses. Flixberry corporate headquarters are located in Tukuran, Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines.
Industry: Media and Entertainment.
Founders: Dionelou Pallega, Dionrich Pallega.
Founded Date: 2017
14. Yield Guild Games
Yield Guild Games (YGG) is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) for investing in non fungible tokens (NFTs) used in virtual worlds and blockchain-based games. The organization’s mission is to create the biggest virtual world economy, optimizing its community-owned assets for maximum utility, and sharing its profits with its token holders.
Industry: Blockchain.
Founders: Beryl Li, Gabby Dizon.
Total Funding: $22.4M
Founded Date: 2020
15. NextPay
NextPay is the best alternative to corporate bank accounts for small businesses and entrepreneurs in the Philippines. Its platform enables companies to collect customer payments via digital invoices, manage their cash, and pay their employees, suppliers, or bills in batches to any bank or e-wallet.
Industry: Fin-Tech
Founders: Aldrich Tan, Don Pansacola.
Total Funding: $1.7M
Founded Date: 2019
16. Saber Labs
Saber Labs was founded in 2017 by Dylan Macalinao. It is the cross-chain stablecoin and wrapped assets exchange on Solana. Saber Labs uses these stablecoins as a means to trade into and out of tokens on varying blockchains, helping to exchange value across differing ecosystems.
Industry: Financial Services.
Founders: Dylan Macalinao
Total Funding: $7.7M
Founded Date: 2017
17. Altitude Games
Altitude Games was founded in 2014 by Chester Ocampo and Gabby Dizon. It is a mobile game studio composed of veterans of the Southeast Asian game industry. They are focused on original mobile free-to-play games and are currently working on their first game, Run Run Super V.
Industry: Gaming, Mobile.
Founders: Chester Ocampo, Gabby Dizon
Total Funding: $1M
Founded Date: 2014
18. Mynt
Mynt is a FinTech startup wholly-owned by Globe Telecom. Mynt’s five key services include payments, remittance, loans, business solutions, and platforms. Mynt invents new solutions to solve important problems, perfecting those solutions, and delighting its customers.
Industry: Micro Lending, Financial Service.
Founders: Martha Sazon
Total Funding: $175M
Founded Date: 2015
19. Taxumo
Taxumo is a BIR accredited Tax Software Provider that automates the computation, filing and payment of business taxes for the above identified markets. It’s an end-to-end mobile responsive web application that allows these business owners and professionals to file and pay their business taxes anytime and anywhere.
Industry: SaaS, Software.
Founders: Ginger Arboleda.
Total Funding: $350K
Founded Date: 2016
20. Sprout Solutions
Sprout Solutions is a technology company, based in the Philippines, with almost 100% Filipino employees. Its sole mission is to provide superior technology and services for the Philippine market, designed exclusively for the needs of the Human Resources industry in the Philippines.
Industry: Enterprise Software, SaaS.
Founders: Alexandria Gentry, Patrick Gentry.
Total Funding: $7.7M
Founded Date: 2015
21. Senti AI
Senti AI is the leading artificial intelligence solutions and services company in the Philippines. Driven by the desire to empower humans and organizations to work efficiently with artificial intelligence, the company combines nearly three decades of academic research with deep industry experience to produce cutting-edge AI projects with meaningful impact.
Industry: Artificial Intelligence.
Founders: Ralph Vincent Regalado
Total Funding: $100K
Founded Date: 2015
22. Flyspaces
FlySpaces empowers businesses as a digital marketplace that provides short-term work and meeting space solutions to entrepreneurs, start-ups, SMEs and mobile professionals. Whether the need is for an hour, a day, a week or a few months. FlySpaces has a network of hundreds of spaces to discover across key South East Asian cities.
Industry: CO-Working, Real Estate.
Founders: Francisco Martinez, Mario Berta.
Total Funding: $2.6M
Founded Date: 2015
23. Unirises
Unirises is a team that specializes in social needs, technological advancement and development for the growing economy, giving the fairest performance for the society and business world. To satisfy the clients and users, Unirises Team are expected to take a proactive, focused approach to their positions, and set standards to ensure that Unirises is committed to business success through the maintenance of high standards of responsibility and ethics.
Industry: Information Technology
Founders: Christian Canlubo, Mark Lester Abejuro.
Total Funding: $55K
Founded Date: 2019
24. Endlist
Endlist was founded in 2018 by Jan Dipasupil, John Leyson and Kevin Dineros. It is a social story app that organizes and simplifies the way users create and share stories. Endlist aims to empower everyone, especially content creators in sharing their passions and expressing their views to the world.
Industry: Software, Mobile Apps.
Founders: Jan Dipasupil, Jihn Leyson, Kevin Dineros.
Total Funding: $10K
Founded Date: 2018
25. HiDok
Hidok is a healthcare technology that aspires to provide first-world innovation to the Philippine Healthcare Industry and create income-generating opportunities for its stakeholders. Hidok aims to provide innovation and improve accessibility and sourcing of medical records and health data for the benefit of the healthcare providers, patients and the whole Philippines healthcare industry.
Industry: Healthcare, Information Technology.
Founders: Jordan Stephen Rances, Iric Fredmore Midel
Total Funding: $600K
Founded Date: 2018