Paulo Campos III, founding managing general partner of Kaya Founders, has urged startup founders outside of Metro Manila to dream big and build tech-enabled businesses that solve problems both local and global.
Campos was among the top key industry experts who spoke about business growth and innovations at the recently concluded 33rd Visayas Area Business Conference hosted by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) Iloilo.
He cited the story of founders like Juca Lacsina of GoEden and Nel Laygo of Peddlr who are building for their local communities in Tarlac and Samar, respectively.
“In doing so, they’ve found that their localized solutions are actually needed in the rest of the country and Southeast Asia region,” Campos pointed out.
Campos, one of the expert panelists at the event, said startups in the Philippines should seize emerging market opportunities as Southeast Asia’s digital economy experienced 8x growth over the past years to surpass $100 billion.
and investment opportunities
In the Philippines, the digital economy is expected to grow at a double-digit rate to reach $35 billion by 2025, he added.
“We are in a specific window of opportunity, with the county’s defining companies to be built over the next 10 years,” Campos said in his presentation dubbed “Strategic Growth: Seizing Emerging Market Opportunities”.
With a GDP growth rate of 4.3%, the Philippines is projected to be the 19th largest economy in the world by 2050.
“We believe that strong macroeconomic fundamentals put the Philippines in a favorable position to become the next major regional tech center after Singapore and Indonesia,” he said.
Kaya Founders is an early-stage venture capital firm backing visionary entrepreneurs in the Philippines as early as Day 0 of the startup journey. Its portfolio includes payment startup Paymongo, POS system for MSMEs Peddlr, F&B kitchen delivery Kraver’s Canteen, and women’s health clinic network Kindred.
The 33rd Visayas Area Business Conference, which drew about 600 leaders and stakeholders from the trade and government sectors, sparked a wave of innovation and growth, especially in the Visayas region.
With the theme “Empowering Business Innovations for an Enriched One Visayas”, the conference successfully ignited the startup ecosystem in the region and provided an avenue for collaboration.
A standout feature of the conference was the active participation of start-up communities.
By bringing together industry leaders, government officials, and emerging entrepreneurs, PCCI Iloilo, led by President Engr. Fulbert Woo, has paved the way for a more dynamic and enriched business landscape in Visayas.
“We continue to become the voice of Filipino businesses. We are business people. We are changemakers,” Woo said.