UBX, the leading open finance platform in the Philippines, has mounted its first regular mixer event, bringing in founders, industry players, venture capitalists, and investors together in a bid to hasten the development of the local startup scene.
Called the UBX Lounge 48 Mixer, UBX organizes the quarterly social gathering together with communities and organizations like JCI Manila, Alike Community, and Fintech Alliance to allow startups to meet, collaborate, and exchange ideas and initiatives over good food and drinks.
“The key to getting through the ever changing business landscape globally is to be open and to collaborate. We are all part of one ecosystem that supports each other. It is important that we continuously engage and collaborate with the community,” UBX President John Januszczak said.
UBX invited several speakers to the first UBX Lounge 48 Mixer, including former Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Gary B. Teves and Gobi-Core Philippine Fund Founding Partner Carlo Delantar.
Teves discussed how alliances are key to succeed in the local startup scene, given the delays in the implementation of key laws and policies that support the development of startups.
He also underscored the need for the Philippines to focus on developing science-based education programs to meet the growing demand for research scientists and engineers — two of the most in-demand posts for startups.
“The bulk of funding in the last two years were focused on three key sectors, e-commerce, fintech, and media tech. We need to further support other important sectors like agritech, edutech, cleantech, and healthtech —- all of which are essential to nation building,” Teves said.
Delantar, on the other hand, talked about the funding landscape in the Philippines. Gobi-Core, he said, believes that “the time is ripe for the Philippines to take its place in the world as a key player in the technology sphere.”
“The Philippines is at a critical point for technology innovation. Investments, talent and ecosystem building remains a cornerstone for development. This mixer provided the avenue for the community to meet after over two years of lockdown with a diverse mix of audience represented by government, corporations, NGOs and startups,” Delantar said.
The first UBX Lounge 48 Mixer brought in more than 100 participants across different sectors — from startup founders to venture capitalists, from industry leaders to upstarts.
UBX Managing Director Jaime Garchitorena highlighted the importance of collaboration in the startup community, likening it to how UBX’s open finance framework works.
Open finance entails the collaboration from different players to share permissioned data to build new products, develop existing services, and tailor solutions to the finance-related needs of individuals and organizations.
“As an individual organization, it would take decades to make a difference, but if a vision is pushed by a community — an entire ecosystem — the impact of our collective efforts will be felt at a much faster and more sustainable pace,” Garchitorena said.
