Mentorship program supports growth of Philippine startups

Dynamico Space CEO JR Calanoc opens the second “demo day” at the Philippine Center in San Francisco. CONTRIBUTED

SAN FRANCISCO – Dynamico Space has recently concluded its mentorship program’s second “demo day” connecting Philippine startups with Silicon Valley investors at the Philippine Center in San Francisco.

Consul General Neil Frank R. Ferrer welcomed startups and investors to the “demo day” of Dynamico Space – a San Francisco-based Filipino-American startup incubator and co-working space. The event was held on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco last week.

“Dynamico Space has been our partner in supporting the growth of Philippine startups,” Ferrer said during the event.

He introduced Maridon Sahagun, Department of Science and Technology (DOST) undersecretary for Scientific and Technical Services. Sahagun was part of the official delegation of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to the APEC summit.

Also attending the event were Consul Vanessa Bago-Llona, Trade Commissioner Celynne Layug, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) officials and members of the Philippine business delegation.

Dynamico Space CEO JR Calanoc acknowledged their public-private partnership with the Consulate General and the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in bridging Philippine startups and Silicon Valley.

He underscored Dynamico’s mission to foster connections between startups, mentors, venture capitalists and angel investors to unlock potential funding opportunities.

Startups

The participating startups included the following:

• Xamun.AI works on software development powered by artificial intelligence (AI). It enables rapid and secure platform and apps creation. It aids startups in crafting top-notch, cloud-native software within weeks, suited for custom web and mobile projects.

• Jiph offers overseas Filipinos an easier way to send money to the Philippines and receive money anytime, anywhere. For a flat fee of $1, overseas Filipinos can instantly send remittances abroad with peer-to-peer processing. The Jiph mobile application makes it easier for users to top up their e-wallet or use their phones to purchase goods.

• TANGGapp promotes global financial inclusion with its mobile application. It sends remittances and enables purchases and donations in an easier, faster and cheaper way using optimal exchange rates.

Mentorship program

Dynamico Space held its first hybrid “demo day” last July. The event was the third phase of the company’s mentorship program that helps startups pitch to investors.

The company has opened up its network to Filipino startups, giving them an opportunity to access the Silicon Valley Startup ecosystem. It has organized a series of pitch nights with startups identified by Philippine incubators and DTI-Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) since 2022.

Startups were selected and invited to the mentorship program – a two-month, one-on-one session with mentors. The program helps startups shape their pitch and refine their business model and product-market fit.

The second “demo day” was the culmination of the mentorship program with the second batch of Philippine startups.