July, August & September 2023
Tech news from The Philippines in 2023’s third quarter covered items including: The Philippines’ challenges and opportunities with electric vehicles; remittances fintechs allowing cross-border transactions from overseas Filipino workers; and more.
For our other editions, you should take a look at Asia’s tech news, daily, delivered via social media channels, and our Indo-Pacific tech newsletters for a weekly update on the region’s tech news.
Hit the links below for each month’s headlines, or scroll down for an all-in-one update on Filipino tech startup news in Q3 2023:
September 2023 | August 2023 | July 2023
e-Conomy SEA 2023: Philippines report – Google, Temasek, Bain & Co
September 2023
CSIS Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative – South China Sea and beyond
- Philippines: The recent Huawei Cloud Finance Summit Philippines 2023 event, building on Huawei Cloud’s 20-fold growth in just 4 years to become the fastest-growing cloud service in APAC
- Bank of the Philippine Islands selects 70 startups, micro- and ‘nano-enterprises’ for mentoring, support and grants
- Philippines: TANGGapp raised $2.5M seed funding with free mobile payments app that doesn’t charge transfer fees, focused on US-based workers sending remittances to the Philippines
- Video: ‘What Web3 Innovators can learn from K-Pop’, a discussion via Multiverse PH, running out of The Philippines
- Philippines: An intro to Gamer Points, tech startup aiming to use low-intrusion ads in games, generating income for players via GP, virtual currency that can be converted to cash
“…the number of EVs in the Philippines is projected to grow to 6.61 million units by 2030, with two-wheeled vehicles such as e-motorcycles to account for 83.1 percent.”
As EV adoption rises, many vehicle parts will remain but some of the costliest components would be replaced, she said. Garafil cited that seven of 18 common automotive components of a vehicle are being produced in the Philippines, with one of four internal combustion engine (ICE)-specific components locally made.
She said that in the Philippines, there were huge opportunities in the expansion of copper mining and refining, copper-heavy component manufacturing, expansion in electrical component manufacturing, software development as well as delivery centers.
- Philippines: Google partners gov’t departments for training program to boost MSME digital skills, Digital Export Enablement Programme
- Philippines: A video chat with the CEO of SariSuki, a platform connecting users to local farms selling fresh produce, 1 of 9 Filipino firms on Forbes Asia’s 100 to Watch list
- Philippines: An intro to Make-roscope, keychain microscope connecting to phone or tablet cameras, capable of 125-400x magnification
- Philippines: A video intro to James Dyson Award winning Pili Seal, a sustainable aviation-focused sealant with applications in construction, automotive, marine and other industries
- Philippines: An intro to Nila Capital, new venture fund focusing on Gen Z startup founders
BCG: Global Payments Report 2023
- Philippines: A video intro to Packworks and ‘sari-sari’ small store operations in the country
- The Philippines’ Asia United Bank signs on with China’as Alipay+, enabling local merchants to take cross-border e-payments from Hong Kong, South Korea and Malaysia
- Philippines: IGNITE 2023 tech conference is set for October 12-13, running with the theme ‘Innovate to Elevate’ and featuring startup-business matchmaking, pitch competition and more
- Australia’s Cyclion launches $1.5M crowdfunding campaign to commercialise tech to clean soft-plastic waste, possibly partnering Philippines for processing
e-Conomy Southeast Asia 2023 report – Google, Temasek, Bain and Co
August 2023
Foxmont / BCG: Philippine Venture Capital Report 2023
- Philippines: Packworks partners Pascal Resources Energy for refillable LPG canisters for neighborhood stores as a ‘tingi’ option for low-income communities in the small-purchase ‘sachet economy’
- Philippines: ALAB Incubation Program showcases 5 high-growth startups working in fintech, artificial intelligence, passive earning for gamers and more
- The Philippines’ Ayala conglomerate inks JV to bring Taiwan’s Gogoro into the country to provide 2-wheeled e-scooters, battery-swap tech and battery-swap stations
- Philippines: A brief intro to the 9 Filipino tech firms on Forbes Asia’s 100 To Watch list, working in e-commerce, point-of-sale, agri-tech and more
Indo-Pacific Tech News, September 2023 edition
July 2023
Foxmont / BCG: Philippine Venture Capital Report 2023
- Download: “From Disinformation to Influence Operations: The Evolution of Disinformation in Three Electoral Cycles in the Philippines” from InterNews
- Philippines: PayMongo payments firm partners Founders Launchpad and Draper Startup House for Founders Launchpad, selecting 6 tech startups for 12-week MVP program
- Smart Communications telco launches the Philippines’ first Prepaid ‘virtual’ eSIM, allowing customers to access mobile services without needing to buy a physical SIM card
“An eSIM is a virtual SIM that allows customers to access prepaid mobile services without the need to buy a physical SIM card. Customers can simply scan a QR code using their eSIM-compatible smartphone and register their new mobile number online.”
- Philippine Blockchain Week 2023 set for September 18-22, running from Manila
- Philippines: Astranis space-based ‘net startup to launch and operate dedicated Philippines satellite capable of connecting 2M people, partnering Orbits Corp for satellite services
A video intro to BreederDAO, offering ‘breeding’ and crafting of NFT characters
- Artificial intelligence and the Philippines: “…digital automation could make 1.1 million roles in the Philippines obsolete by 2028.”
- Philippines: Shell LiveWIRE 2023 unveils 11 community enterprises and tech startups selected for acceleration program
- Malaysia’s MY EG gains regulatory approval for blockchain-based customs clearance and processing on trade flows between the Philippines and China
SharePass: Online digital security solution
Indo-Pacific TECH news
All-day tech news updates from across the broad – and increasingly strategically and technologically important – Indo-Pacific region, and across South and Southeast Asia:
- Indo-Pacific tech daily on Twitter
- Indo-Pacific tech daily on Facebook
- Indo-Pacific tech news on LinkedIn
Our mobile app is currently offline, due to the ongoing devolution of what was Twitter, now X.
We aim to have the app back online with a much-improved interface and broader functionality by the end of 2023.
World Economic Forum: Space Applications in Agriculture
Indo-Pacific TECH newsletter
Our weekly e-newsletters go out via Substack and LinkedIn, giving a one-glance grasp of the week’s technology news from the Indo-Pacific and South & Southeast Asia.
