P8B now available to fund promising Philippine startups, says trade dep’t

https://business.inquirer.net/393348/p8b-now-available-to-fund-promising-ph-startups-says-trade-dept

Further, private investors have committed P300 million out of this year’s P1-billion target, while microlenders have pledged to allot another P4 billion.

“The microloans are for stakeholders of the companies—entrepreneurs, employees, farmers, fisherfolk,” said the NDC official.

The DTI has been actively promoting the startup ecosystem in the country, with its attention focused recently on the local creatives sector.

Last week, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual announced the government’s plan to establish a Creative Venture Fund and other financial support mechanisms to help local creative enterprises and workers sustain and expand their operations.

“The development of the creative economy is central to DTI’s industrialization and industrial transformation agenda, which is driven by science, technology and innovation. We at DTI endeavor to uplift the skills of Filipino artists and the quality of their outputs to be able to compete in the larger international market,” Pascual said in a statement last week.