AN organization composed of young entrepreneurs in Mandaue City is endorsing Startup Weekend to their national office this year so it could get funding and be organized in other regions of the country.
JCI Mandaue executive vice president for external affairs Paul Winston Villacorta said yesterday he is optimistic the StartUp Weekend will get JCI’s backing considering the organization’s mandate of extending business support to the community.
“There have been a lot of startup events happening in the country that have already caught the attention of the business community,” said Villacorta, who is also a member of TechTalks.ph. “The activity has high chances to be supported by business organizations given its impact to the community and the promotion of technology and entrepreneurship.”
JCI Mandaue will act as the prime mover for the endorsement on behalf of the 11 other local JCIs in Cebu province. Villacorta said if they would be able to get the support of JCI, they could increase startup activities to four times a year.
JCI is the one of the groups supporting Startup Weekend Cebu (SWC) 3, scheduled on June 7 to 9 at the University of San Carlos main campus. They expect to gather 150 participants in the three-day activity.
Business community
SWC will coincide with the celebration of Cebu Business Month, an annual event hosted by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Tina Amper, founder of TechTalks.ph, said SWC’s inclusion in the CBM and JCI’s involvement this year is a manifestation that the start-up community in Cebu has already caught the attention of the business community. TechTalks.ph is the lead organizer of Startup Weekend Cebu.
The government, through the Department of Science and Technology- Information and Communications Technology Office (DOST-ICTO), pledged to give financial support for SWC 3.
Amper said local businessmen are now starting to get involved with startups. She said even traditional businesses are now open to investing in startup ideas.
She stressed the importance of adopting new technology in growing a business, particularly in increasing customer traffic and revenues.
She urged big companies to hire local developers to build websites and applications for them instead of hiring those from abroad. She said that the Philippines has a pool of young workers adept in social media and other technology tools that help improve businesses.
Jonathan Jay Aldeguer, president and chief executive officer of The Islands Group, Wesley Chiongbian of Mynimo.com and Wilson Ng of Ng Khai Development Corp., were identified as among the top local businessmen that have extended support to Cebu’s startup community.
Keith Lumanog, founder of Web Ninja Mobile, said they are expecting more local businessmen to participate in the upcoming SWC 3 especially that more than the funding, mentorship is critical for startups.
Startup Weekend is a global grassroots movement of entrepreneurs who want to learn the basics of founding startups and launching successful ventures. It is a venue for people to come together for weekend long workshops to pitch ideas, form teams and start companies.