Taiwan & the Philippines Innovation Powerhouses Shine on Digital Technology Summit

On April 25th, the national startup brand, Startup Island TAIWAN, led 15 Taiwanese digital technology startups to host the TW-PH Tech Summit: Big Data, New Economy. This marked the first collaboration with key communities such as TechShake, 917 Ventures, and Immorta Corp. With support from Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines, the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of Information and Communications Technology, and National Development Company, Taiwan's startup solutions were showcased in Manila. The event was highlighted by heavyweight representatives from the unicorn startups GCash and Gogoro Philippines, bridging cooperation in the digital new economy.

A total of 15 Taiwanese digital technology startups participated, covering various areas of Taiwan's startup strengths, including e-commerce and finance, cybersecurity and trust technology, smart manufacturing and IoT, as well as sustainable and related industries. Several Taiwanese startups have already established operations in the Philippines, even setting up local teams there. For example, the lifestyle enjoyment platform FunNow and trust technology software company Gogolook are actively expanding their business in the Philippine market. Furthermore, startups with successful experiences in Southeast Asia are seeking joint ventures or sales partnerships to accelerate their market entry. Examples include Kdan Mobile, which sees high growth potential for eSignatures in the ASEAN market, MedFluid, which provides antibody testing for the pet medical market, and the digital transformation solution provider Turn Cloud. Turn Cloud has reportedly secured its first order for an integrated digital shipping system in the Philippines and has also signed an MoU with National Development Company, achieving significant milestones in the country's digital development landmark.

Startup Island TAIWAN invited the Philippine fintech unicorn GCash, along with 3 NEXT BIG companies - the electric two-wheeler leader Gogoro, the AI cybersecurity solution provider Cycraft, and FunNow - to discuss the digital economy and data applications in Taiwan and the Philippines. Bernard Llamzon, the CEO of Gogoro Philippines, believes that the Philippines' advantage lies in its large daily population movements, which increase opportunities for diverse services and provide key data for smart city development. Meanwhile, Ferdie Perez, Head of Product Innovation at GCash, highlighted that data privacy is a major concern for GCash users and the government.

The TW-PH Tech Summit received unprecedented attention and response from the Philippines public sector and major enterprises, successfully connecting the startup ecosystems between Taiwan and the Philippines.

Startup Island TAIWAN symbolizes a journey from a startup island to the international arena. It demonstrates to the world the strong ambition and capabilities of Taiwan startup companies as well as their intention and ability to contribute to other startup ecosystems around the world. The vision for the brand is to become the destination for innovation and entrepreneurship for startups all over the world, and also a launchpad to expand globally.