DOST – ICTO, TechTalks.ph, and 1337 Ventures to Run First Alpha Startup Bootcamp in the Philippines

DOST – Information and Communications Technology Office, in partnership with 1337 Ventures and TechTalks.ph, is set to run a pre-accelerator program for startups in their early ideation and validation stages. The Alpha Startup Bootcamp will be on its pilot run in the Philippines this November, kicking off with a boot camp in Cebu City on November 9 – 13, 2015.

The inaugural 5-day Bootcamp will feature workshops on customer and product development, pitching, mentoring sessions, and networking sessions that will help startups advance from idea generation to developing viable products and business models. To conclude the Bootcamp, startups will get the chance to showcase their outputs in a demo day that will be attended by key investors.

“This Alpha Startup Bootcamp will help early stage startups get off the ground by teaching them the basics of building a digital business. This is a gap we currently see in the Philippine startup ecosystem that this initiative will help address,” said DOST-ICTO Deputy Executive Director Monchito Ibrahim.

In response to such gap, the DOST – ICTO has partnered with TechTalks.ph and Malaysia-based accelerator, 1337 Ventures in this Bootcamp. Champions of startups in the country’s grassroots communities and the ASEAN, respectively, TechTalks.ph and1337 Ventures see the first Alpha Startup Bootcamp as an opportunity to meet promising Philippine startups they can potentially work with to further develop the startup communities in the country and the ASEAN region.

Startups that successfully graduate from the program will have a chance to receive microfunding and resources that are helpful for their startup as well as gain priority admission into funding programs run by 1337 Ventures. More importantly, they will become validated startups with stronger pitches and will be more ready to pursue business ventures.

Entrepreneurs can now apply for the Bootcamp at alphastartups.co. A one-minute video pitch must be submitted as an entry point. Phase 1 of the registration will close on 19 October and Phase 2 on 26 October. Qualified entrepreneurs will be notified of the application results by 2 November 2015. The Bootcamp is open to 50 startup founders and co-founders of early stage startups who have initially started conceptualizing innovative ICT startups.

The Alpha Startup Bootcamp is part of the ICTO’s larger initiative of promoting technopreneurship and innovation in the country through its seedPH program. Towards this, seedPH leverages the use of ICT for relevant economic and social change through establishment and unification of the Philippine startup ecosystem and the proliferation of innovative ICT businesses. Key projects under seedPH include Startup Weekends, Startup Workshops, the Philippine Roadmap for Digital Startups, and the annual Philippine Startup Challenge.

For inquiries on the Alpha Startup Bootcamps and seedPH, follow at facebook.com/digitalPH2015 or email karla.legaspi@icto.dost.gov.ph.