Tech incubator IdeaSpace Foundation is collaborating with US-based automation and test equipment maker National Instruments (NI) to encourage and support technology startups in the Philippines and Southeast Asia region.
The partnership was announced following the recent signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the two parties.
NI will boost the advancement of the technology startups under the IdeaSpace incubation portfolio through its engineering innovation and entrepreneurship program called Planet NI.
The Planet NI program will help technopreneurs and entrepreneurs in SMEs and startups increase their access to world-class development tools, technical training, and support so they can achieve sustainable prosperity and contribute to the socioeconomic development of the country nations.
NI is also partnering with IdeaSpace in their technopreneurship boot camps which are being conducted in major universities in different regions all over the country to promote this program.
?Planet NI seeks to provide technology access to millions of engineers in emerging countries that face affordability and accessibility barriers to technology adoption. Through this partnership with IdeaSpace, we can reach out to more engineers who are developing technology-based solutions for local industries, entrepreneurs who are working to develop and commercialize new products, and social startups that are building solutions to improve the lives of the most impoverished areas.? said Gerrald Carlo A. Mateo, Planet NI country coordinator.
?We saw quite a number of good hardware-based tech ideas during our first national competition and there?s a big potential for this market in emerging countries like the Philippines. Common barriers for these startups include inadequate technical training and support as well as high cost for manufacturing of prototype products. This partnership with National Instruments is another step towards bridging this gap in this field.? said Earl Martin S. Valencia, IdeaSpace president.
A non-profit organization, IdeaSpace aims to help technology entrepreneurs develop groundbreaking solutions and transform these into successful commercial products.
The organization offers a program that combines business incubation and acceleration by providing access to resource, business education, and connections to potential business partners.
Last March, ten tech startups joined the first batch of IdeaSpace incubation program. Of the ten, four are technology-based startups developing solutions ranging from water sanitation, medical implants, and low-cost power generation.
These startups are Armtech (affordable water purification machine), Mirand (low-cost total joint implants), PGRS (electricity via rumble strips) and WeGen (new design of wind turbines).
Gen8, a company that is developing a Braille mobile phone and part of the IdeaSpace portfolio through a joint partnership with the Smart Wireless Engineering Education Program (Sweep) of Smart Communications, is also technology-based.
IdeaSpace also runs an advocacy program to encourage aspiring technology entrepreneurs all over the country through a series of bootcamps that combine technology talks with idea generation, workshops and pitching competition. Geared towards students and young professionals, these bootcamps are held in universities and attract participants in their areas.
