Early-stage technology incubator and accelerator IdeaSpace Foundation (IdeaSpace) is opening its National Startup Competition to accept technology startup ideas for 2017. Now in its fifth year, the 2017 IdeaSpace National Startup Competition will be casting a wider net as it begins to accept 15 startups into the final acceleration process, instead of the usual 10 finalists.
Interested individuals or groups may submit their unique startup ideas by logging on to apply.ideaspacefoundation.org. Deadline for submission of startup ideas is on January 12, 2017.
“We’ve seen very inspiring stories of startup founders joining IdeaSpace over the years, from husband-and-wife tandems to students looking to make their own mark in the world,” said Diane Eustaquio, executive director of IdeaSpace. “This year, we’re looking to extend our support to more startup founders with burning passion to start up their own business and help the country progress with the help of technology and innovation.”
All 15 startups that will make it to the finals next year will still receive P500,000 of equity-free funding, which means IdeaSpace will not have a stake in their early-stage startups. On top of this, they will also receive support for housing, transportation, incorporation, office space, communication, software, trainings and classes, as well as mentoring from executives of companies under First Pacific, the total value of which amounts to more than P1 million.
Since launching in 2012, IdeaSpace has incubated and funded a total of 52 startups, some of which have grown and evolved into full-fledged business enterprises, including startups such as PinoyTravel and TimeFree Innovations.
To further bring the proposition of innovation into the corporate space, IdeaSpace likewise launched the Intrapreneur Accelerator Program (IAP) this year, which allowed internal product development teams from companies in the First Pacific group to pitch their ideas and undergo the rigors of incubation and acceleration under IdeaSpace.
For more information, visit www.ideaspacefoundation.org.
