Inside the Philippines’ plan to be the ‘Silicon Valley’ for climate resilience startups

DEVCON Philippines founder Winston Damarillo hopes the country will be home to 100 climate-focused startups in the next two to three years

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines, one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations, is positioning itself as a global hub for climate technology innovation, aiming to attract startups from around the world much like Silicon Valley.

A tripartite collaboration between the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), De La Salle University (DLSU), and technology non-profit DEVCON Philippines wants to develop an ecosystem to encourage climate tech startups from all over the world to set up shop in the Philippines.

The plan, called the Climate Resilience Technology (CResT) platform, will develop and scale climate resilience solutions, examples of which include sodium-ion batteries, more resilient corals, and reforestation robots that plant trees in challenging mountain terrain.

“The Philippines is ready to lead in global climate action with tech-driven solutions. Through CResT, we will turn challenges into opportunities, positioning our nation as a global hub for climate tech innovation, where we develop and scale transformative solutions to meet urgent and future needs,” DOST Secretary Renato Solidium Jr. said in a press release.

Under CResT, the DOST will provide and coordinate research funding, DLSU will share its research infrastructure and resources through Animo Labs, and DEVCON will work with the entrepreneurs to develop and scale their climate-focused startups. The hope is that the research funded does not just result in a paper, but into a product.

DEVCON founder Winston Damarillo likens the idea to Silicon Valley, which has become synonymous as the place for technology startups and disruptors. Since the Philippines consistently ranks as one of the countries most affected by climate change and natural disasters, Damarillo argued, then it only makes sense for entrepreneurs to establish themselves here, where local government units and the private sector can be early adopters and ready customers.

“This is a unique opportunity for the Philippines because the problems we’re trying to solve is right here. And if we’re able to solve these problems of the Philippines, and we solve it in a way that we can make into a product, then we have a new breed of exports,” Damarillo told reporters on Wednesday, September 11. “We’re going to become a climate incubator for the world. So, that’s our goal.”

More specifically, Damarillo’s goal is to establish 100 startups in climate within two to three years, enough to establish an ecosystem of innovators and customers.

In October, Damarillo said that he also plans to court venture capitalists attending the San Francisco Tech Week to rally support for CResT.

“The one thing that we really want to amplify in San Francisco is: come to the Philippines and innovate here. Do your investments in the Philippines kasi dito yung problema (because the problems are here). We’ll present you with problems to fix,” he said. – Rappler.com