[In photo: (L-R) An Christine Gojar of Xynix Semicon, Xynix Semicon President Charade Avondo, PTIC-Brussels Commercial Counsellor Magnolia Ashley, SEIPI President Dan Lachica, DTI Secretary Alfredo Pascual]
Philippines Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual spearheaded three business meetings on June 30, 2023 during the Netherlands leg of the Europe Investment Roadshow jointly organized by the Board of Investments (BOI) and the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) in Brussels, Belgium.
One of the meetings was with Business Connect, a Dutch consulting company focused on setting up startup ecosystems worldwide. It had successfully established startup communities in the Netherlands and Taiwan, and now working towards establishing a similar ecosystem in the Philippines through a collaboration with Techshake, Asia’s most active Philippine-based Startup Ecosystem Builder that creates thousands of connections and opportunities for startups.
Together with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (DCCP) and in coordination with the PTIC-Brussels, Business Connect is leading a trade mission from the Netherlands to the Philippines on October 9-13 this year, which will be composed of Dutch startups and other companies involved in high-tech, agricultural technology, and water sectors. The trade mission will coincide with IGNITE, the Philippines’ biggest premier international innovation conference, scheduled on October 12-13.
Looking forward to this Dutch trade mission to the Philippines, Secretary Pascual cited the signing into law of Republic Act No. 11337 also known as the Innovative Startup Act, aimed to strengthen, promote, and develop an innovative and entrepreneurial ecosystem and culture in the Philippines. It focuses on providing benefits and removing constraints to encourage the establishment and operation of innovative new enterprises and businesses.
Furthermore, Secretary Pascual met with Xinyx Semiconductor Design Services, Inc. (Xinyx Semicon), a pioneer integrated circuit (IC) design solutions house based in Alabang, Muntinlupa City. The company started in 2007 with only six (6) employees and since then, it has grown to 348 employees with a branch in Cagayan de Oro and in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
Xinyx Semicon President Charade Avondo, shared the company’s plans to establish a base in the Netherlands to cater to companies in need of IC design services. She also expressed the company’s interest in hiring more Filipino engineers from top technical schools, colleges, and universities through collaborations.
Secretary Pascual expressed his support toward Xinyx Semicon’s advocacy of improving the quality of IT engineering graduates in the Philippines, which is seen to enhance the country’s ability to provide world-class engineering services to the European market.
Finally, Secretary Pascual also led the meeting with BlueCap Hydro, a leading manufacturer of innovative and integrated micro hydropower generators and an initiator and co-developer of micro hydropower projects. BlueCap Hydro was represented by its CEO and Founder Duco Wansink, and Commercial Director and Co-Founder Damiano Piacenza.
Secretary Pascual affirmed the continued support of the Philippine government in setting up a manufacturing facility for micro grid power generators in the country. He also emphasized the importance of the energy sector as a backbone for establishing and sustaining industry value chains and the main driver for industry development.
“As we aim to fill up value chain gaps and increase value-added activities in the country, the energy sector plays a vital role in providing sufficient, stable, and secured energy to strategic industries that we target to locate in the country,” he added.
BlueCap Hydro confirmed its contract with the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) to deploy 50x50KW micro-hydropower plants in the Philippines. The project aims to provide off-grid energy to run irrigation pumps and provide post-harvest value-added activities such as drying and cooling of agricultural produce.
