Last August 8, PLDT SME Nation joined the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and IdeaSpace Foundation in their latest efforts to empower startups and innovation entrepreneurs with the establishment and launch of the QBO Innovation Hub.
An increasing number of young entrepreneurs continue to establish themselves among micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) which comprise of 99.6% of registered businesses in the country.
Today, as more technology tools and digital solutions are being made available by the MSME arm of PLDT, entrepreneurs are gaining the confidence they need to bring their business ideas to life and make their dreams a reality.
QBO Innovation Hub is a natural progression in the efforts of IdeaSpace, the leading early stage technology incubator and accelerator in the Philippines, to help promote startup technopreneurship in the country, aside from providing equity-free funding, incubation and acceleration through its national startup competition held annually since 2012.
PLDT Group and IdeaSpace Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan shares his support of the startup ecosystem in the country.
“Since we launched IdeaSpace a few years back, we are glad that many other players have emerged to help build and grow such startups,” Pangilinan said. “As the old saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child. We note with appreciation that the government has shown a keen interest in collaborating with private sector partners to help raise the Philippine startup scene to global standards through the QBO Innovation Hub.”
Named after the iconic “kubo” as it reflects the modern re-imagination of the traditional Filipino home and community space, DTI, IdeaSpace, and PLDT SME Nation hope that the QBO Innovation Hub will usher in a new breed of startups that will thrive in the innovation economy.
With a shared vision to further enable the innovative capacity of Filipino entrepreneurs, PLDT SME Nation, together with IdeaSpace and long-time partner DTI, strives towards the commitment to make the country a strong, competitive, and pioneering nation where MSMEs can make it big in their respective industries.