Startups outside Iloilo are hitting a funding wall

ILOILO CITY — A lack of risk capital, a shortage of technical talent, and limited private-sector participation are among the key gaps facing startups outside Iloilo, according to preliminary findings of a regional startup ecosystem mapping.

Daryl Lasafin, operations director of FyrLab Accelerator and one of the key facilitators of the mapping report, said the assessment found that Iloilo City and province had emerged as the region’s strongest startup hub, while Capiz, Aklan, Antique, and Guimaras remained at earlier stages of development.

“One of the things that we’ve discovered is that we have one strong hub, which is Iloilo, both city and province,” Lasafin said at a press conference for the 2026 Western Visayas Innovative Startup Fest on Thursday.

The mapping involved several months of visits to the provinces and consultations with local government units, universities, technology business incubators, business groups, government agencies, and startup founders.

Lasafin said the team used a framework from the U.S.-based Founder Institute and the Startup Community Maturity Model to assess the region’s startup ecosystems.

The assessment examined five areas the team called “vectors”: density, culture, capital, talent, and regulation.

Under the framework, startup ecosystems are classified into seven stages: nascent, foundational, accelerating, established, high-functioning, progressive, and aspirational.

Iloilo was classified as accelerating with established qualities.

Capiz, Aklan, and Guimaras were described as nascent with foundational qualities, while Antique was assessed as early nascent.

“The primary gap is really the absence of risk capital,” Lasafin said.

He said the region lacked an organized network of angel investors outside Iloilo.

Support for startups often stopped after the idea stage, he added, particularly in provinces where the ecosystem was still nascent.

Startup-related activities were also concentrated in Iloilo City and Roxas City, the capital of Capiz.

The mapping also identified talent leaving the region, a shortage of technical talent, and limited private-sector involvement in funding and risk investments.

The team also found that startup-related policies were not yet being felt consistently on the ground, partly because some initiatives were relatively new.

The findings remain subject to refinement, Lasafin said, and a more comprehensive version of the report may be published later.

What is currently available?

Despite these gaps, Western Visayas has an established network of government agencies, universities, and startup enablers.

The Department of Science and Technology, Department of Trade and Industry, and Department of Information and Communications Technology are among the agencies mandated to support startup development.

The three agencies lead the Philippine Startup Development Program under Republic Act No. 11337, or the Innovative Startup Act, which was signed in 2019.

The Department of Agriculture also has programs related to agricultural startups.

The region also has universities and technology business incubators that can help innovators develop ideas.

Startup events, meanwhile, are intended to connect founders with government agencies, investors, mentors, and prospective business partners.

Lucrecio Delgado, Southeast Asia regional director of the Wadhwani Foundation, said startup development requires support from multiple sectors and across the stages of building a business.

“This is not simply a work of government or private sector,” Delgado said, stressing the need for coordinated support through a consortium.

The Regional Agri-Aqua Innovation System Enhancement program for Western Visayas, or RAISE WV, which involves 11 universities in the region, is one initiative linking academic research to enterprise development.

Capiz State University President Efren Linan, who also serves as RAISE WV’s program leader, said the project had assisted nearly 115 incubators or startups and helped develop about 35 agri-aqua technology enterprises.

The program also aims to help universities identify technologies that respond to industry needs and find businesses willing to adopt them, rather than relying solely on technologies developed within academic institutions.

Iloilo province is also pursuing local initiatives to strengthen startup development.

Aulynn Yue Sin, head of the Iloilo provincial government’s Local Economic Development and Investment Promotions Office, highlighted the province’s Startup Development Ordinance of 2024 (Provincial Ordinance No. 2025-332), which institutionalizes community- and academe-based startup development in the province.

The ordinance also mandates the provincial government to provide up to PHP 500,000 in financial assistance per startup and a three-year business tax exemption for qualified recipients.

Yue Sin also said the provincial government plans to establish a school-based technology hub at Cabatuan National Comprehensive High School.

The hub is expected to encourage junior and senior high school students to develop science-based ideas that could lead to startups.

The 2026 Western Visayas Innovative Startup Fest’s activities include the launch of the Startup Iloilo Movement on Oct. 23 and the first Iloilo City Mayor’s Innovation Cup on Oct. 24.

The competition will feature 10 shortlisted startups pitching their minimum viable products, with prizes for the top three startups.

The three-day fest, running Oct. 22-24 at SM Iloilo Terminal Market, is intended to connect startups, investors, researchers, government agencies, universities, and businesses and expand access to support for local innovators.

The event carries the theme “Scaling the Region’s Startup Ecosystem: Enabling Founders, Driving Innovation.”