Startups in Bacolod City now have access to a P3-million government grant channelled through an accelerator hub that will be established this year.
The hub – Accelerate Leadership for Philippine Startup Advancement Bacolod Accelerator – has obtained the P3-million grant from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), according to a report by state media Philippine News Agency.
The grant will be used to establish an accelerator hub that will provide mentorship and support for startups in Bacolod City. The accelerator hub will be set up at Ayala Malls Capitol Central and is expected to go live within the year.
The grant comes about a year after Bacolod City launched a startup program called Bacolod Startup Ecosystem Programs and Services to boost the ICT industry in the city.
The program was established under City Ordinance 886 to provide customized support and assistance to startups.
The accelerator hub will not be a hub per se. It will also run parallel training, Frances Mae Llamas, head of the city’s Department of Local Economic Development and Investment Promotions, said in an interview with PNA.
The training and mentorship will be initiated by the DOST in collaboration with various universities and colleges. The interactions with startups will start next month or August.
Under the agreement, the DOST will release P1.5 million to the city government this year and an additional P1 million in 2025. The remaining P500,000 will be released in 2026.
The funding and the establishment of the accelerator hub comes as startups in the Philippines continue to lag behind their regional peers in terms of funding volume and value.
According to a DealStreetAsia report, Philippines-based startups secured $17.5 million in May from four transactions. The deals were led by Lhoopa, a proptech startup that secured $12.5 million in its Series B funding round anchored by Wavemaker Partners.
Most recently, BayaniPay, a fintech company that provides global payments process automation, has announced raising $3 million more in its Series A funding round, bringing the total raised for the round to $9.6 million.
Green logistics startup Mober also recently garnered an investment of up to US$6 million from the South East Asia Clean Energy Facility II (SEACEF II), managed by Singapore-based fund manager Clime Capital.