One of the country’s oldest companies, the National Development Company has invested in 117 companies over the last 104 years as part of its mandate to support commercial, industrial and mining ventures that will benefit the economy.
Ranked 6th in Southeast Asia in the Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2023, the Philippines’ startup ecosystem has built a name as an innovation and tech hub in the region. To support the sector, NDC launched the Startup Venture Fund (SVF) in 2021.
According to NDC General Manager Anton Mauricio, the SVF is a groundbreaking initiative that aims to fuel the growth of high-potential startups through funding in collaboration with other accredited investors.
In October 2023, SoIX Technologies, Inc. (SolX) became the first startup to secure funding from the SVF. It secured 11 million pesos (around US$193,500) in funding from the SVF and also received the same amount from Japanese venture capital firm Real Tech Holdings.
“We are glad to partner with NDC and Real Tech in multiplying solutions for the Philippine energy industry and applaud this concrete commitment to support the domestic startup ecosystem in the country,” said SolX CEO Sergius Santos.
“We’re very bullish on the size of the investments that we do in startups,” said Mauricio as he emphasized that the future of the Philippine startup ecosystem is bright because of efforts of NDC, its partners, and passionate Filipino entrepreneurs seeking innovative solutions to both local and global challenges.