Startup and investment landscape
The business environment in the Philippines had a reputation for having among the highest number of days required to start a business and the most steps needed for start-ups to register their business. Improvement was seen in recent years following the Startup Innovation Act in 2019, which provided incentives and a streamlined process for starting a business. This, alongside a thriving digital economy and a young median population, fueled strong interest among entrepreneurs to build new tech and tech-enabled enterprises. As of October 2021, there were 700 start-ups, from just 237 in 2017. Over a quarter of these were in digital services, although funding was highest in the fintech sector, followed by e-commerce, blockchain, and media and entertainment.The potential of the Philippine start-up scene was evident in the increasing funds raised, further contributing to the start-up ecosystem's total value, estimated at two billion U.S. dollars in 2021. Most start-up deals were in the late-stage venture capital (VC) while four percent exited. As of 2020, there were 50 angel investors, 40 venture capitalists, 35 incubators and accelerators, and 200 coworking spaces in the Philippines.
