The Philippine government has officially accredited local venture investor Gobi-Core Philippine Fund (Gobi-Core) as a co-investment partner for the state-initiated, $10-million Startup Venture Fund (SVF).
Launched in 2021, the SVF — a joint effort by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the National Development Council (NDC) — seeks to provide capital, mentorship, capacity building, and other support to Filipino startup founders under the Innovative Startup Act.
As a co-investment partner, Gobi-Core, a joint venture partnership co-managed by Manila-based VC firm Core Capital and Pan-Asian investor Gobi Partners, will be able to co-invest with the SVF in Philippine-based, high-potential startups.
The partnership also means that SVF will match Gobi-Core’s investment in local startups, subject to approval and evaluation by the government venture fund.
“It has been proven before, that when the government shows confidence in the tech industry through funding and beneficial laws, exponential growth follows. The SVF is especially crucial to the industry because it shows government confidence,” Carlo Chen-Delantar, founder partner of Gobi-Core Philippine Fund, told DealStreetAsia in an interview.
In terms of responsibilities, all investment partners shall provide mentorship, managerial oversight, business networks, or other support necessary for capacity building and to ensure that the beneficiary startups are given the needed resources to achieve their goals.
The SVF is a result of the signing into law in 2019 of the Innovative Startup Act, which provides benefits and programmes to strengthen, promote and develop the Philippine startup ecosystem.
Key features of the law include streamlined business registration, research and development grants, and international exposure; the creation of a Philippine startup ecozone; and the launch of the SVF.
“We strongly believe in the effectiveness of public-private partnerships in the tech ecosystem and with this endeavor, we emphasize both locally and internationally that the Philippines is bound for an inflection point,” said Core Capital managing partner Jason Gaisano.
Since its establishment in 2018, Core Capital has already invested in startups that have now become local household names such as Tier One — a premier esports and entertainment brand which ranked first on LinkedIn’s Top PH Startups list last year — and Kumu, the Philippines’ largest social entertainment app and one of the country’s top tech companies.
According to data compiled by DealStreetAsia DATA VANTAGE, Philippines-based startups raised $627 million from 59 deals last year, down 33% from $942 million raised for the entire year 2021 from 58 transactions.
Fintech emerged as the top sector in the Philippines this year, with 17 startups signing funding deals from January to December. E-commerce startups saw 12 deals while gaming, data analytics, and logistics, rounded up the top five sectors.
Industry players, however, remain optimistic, given the growing interest in the local ecosystem and a new administration that, it is hoped, will further pave the way for the startup industry’s growth.