(From Left) DOST Secretary Fortunato de la Peña, QBO Director Katrina Chan, DTI Assistant Secretary Rafaelita “Fita” Aldaba, JP Morgan Executive Director Patricia Javier-Gutrierrez, Ideaspace Executive Director Diane Eustaquio, and President QBO Phillipines & Ideaspace Foundation Inc. Rene Meily.
Interested in creating or joining a startup but you don’t know how to start?
Good news: the QBO Innovation Hub introduced the latest stage in its effort to “lead Filipino startups in changing the world”—the QBO App, now available for download and it’s free!
The mobile app offers a virtual hub for all startup enthusiasts where they can easily connect with a broader range of entrepreneurs, investors, partners, and other potential resource persons regardless of geographical location. It is also an avenue for users to engage in startup-related discussions as well as stay updated with QBO’s events and services.
Katrina Chan, QBO Director, presented the key features of QBO App which are: Qnnect, Qllaborate, and Qntribute. Users can easily Qnnect with startups, mentors, and inventors to create meaningful partnerships, find new businesses and investments, or stay on top of the latest news.
Its Qllaborate feature allows users to discover startup-related events across the country, participate in groups to seek advice, discuss trendy topics, and communicate with special guests and speakers. Important resources like government forms, speaker presentations, and other documents can be downloaded through Qllaborate.
Lastly, the mobile app encourages the users to become active members of the startup ecosystem through Qntribute—sharing their news, pushing their own products, and posting photos, links, videos and other startup-related content on a social media-like timeline, as well as give feedback to QBO’s programs and services.
“We are totally taking a step towards the right direction in making it convenient for our startups to connect,” NAME, JP Morgan Managing Director, commended the app and added, “This provides open access to all levels of society, which is integral in inclusive growth of the country.”
Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Fortunato de la Peña reminded, “we have to instill in them the spirit of competition. I encourage you (startups) to be persistent.”
What is QBO Innovation Hub?
QBO Innovation Hub is a groundbreaking partnership between public and private sector that aims to develop, grow, and scale up a competitive startup ecosystem in the Philippines. The hub encourages Qllaboration between startups, develop Qmmunity (over 100 programs designed for developing startups), and provide Inqbation for startups. In 2017, they were recognized as one of the three ‘Best Accelerator Programme’ at the Rice Bowl Startup Awards.
QBO Innovation Hub is a collaboration among DOST, Department of Trade and Industry, JP Morgan, and Ideaspace.
For more information about QBO, visit www.qbo.com.ph.
DOST’s Technology Business Incubation (TBI) Program
The Innovation Council, DOST-PCIEERD, supports the QBO Innovation Hub under the TBI Program. This program aims to promote innovation and technopreneurship for the country’s socio-economic development in a knowledge-based world economy providing a range of resources, services and facilities needed during the development stage. The goal of TBI is to produce firms that will leave the incubation program financially viable and able to sustain operation and compete in the market.
More information on the TBI Program at http://pcieerd.dost.gov.ph/work-with-us/59-technology-business-incubation-program.
