startup

Sen. Bam defends measures for start-ups, scientists and researchers

The Senate on Wednesday started plenary discussions on three measures that aim to provide needed assistance to innovative start-ups and benefits to support Filipino scientists and researchers.

Senator Bam Aquino, chairman of the Committee on Science and Technology, defended the three measures — Innovative Startup Act, Balik Scientist Act and Magna Carta for Scientists — during period of interpellation.

 Sen. Bam, who stood as principal sponsor and co-authors of the said measures, underscored the importance of providing support to around 200,000 innovative start-ups in the country.

 Innovative start-ups are businesses that provide unique and relevant solutions to pressing problems, from a simple application for finding a taxi and other systems for improving healthcare, supporting Filipino farmers and addressing unemployment.

“Our country has a number of promising start-ups and we need to provide them with the environment where they can grow and succeed, just like what their counterparts in other countries like United States and Israel are enjoying,” said Sen. Bam.

“Hopefully, this measure will unlock the potential of this sector. A lot of Filipino innovators are looking forward to this bill,” added Sen. Bam.

 If enacted into law, innovative startups will enjoy benefits such as tax breaks and grants and other forms of assistance, including a faster process for business registration.

 Innovative start-ups could also avail of technical assistance and training programs, free use of equipment, facilities and support for patenting or licensing of their product through the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines.

 Aside from the Innovative Start-up Act, the Senate also tackled the Balik Scientist Act and Magna Carta for Scientists, which both aim to ramp up support to Filipino scientists, engineers and researchers.

After the period of interpellation, the Senate will continue discussions on the said measures next month during period of amendments.

Sponsorship Speech for the Innovative Start-Up Act

SENATE BILL NO. 1532 UNDER COMMITTEE REPORT NO. 142

AN ACT PROVIDING BENEFITS AND PROGRAMS TO STRENGTHEN, PROMOTE, AND DEVELOP THE 

PHILIPPINE STARTUP ECOSYSTEM

 

Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” A. Aquino IV

17th Congress, Senate of the Philippines

Sponsorship Speech, August 1, 2017

 

 

Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, good afternoon, magandang hapon po sa ating lahat.

It is my honor and privilege to stand before you today to sponsor Senate Bill No. 1532 under Committee Report No. 142 entitled An Act Providing Benefits and Programs to Strengthen, Promote, and Develop the Philippine Startup Ecosystem.

 It is difficult to launch a startup, Mr. President. And it is especially difficult in the Philippines.

I experienced this firsthand when I co-founded two social enterprises- the Hapinoy Program and Rags2Riches (R2R) a couple of years agp, almost a decade ago, Mr. President.

 We experienced rejection, running out of capital and changes in our business model. We went through many of the hardships every entrepreneur experiences, which is why I have a very special place in my heart for Filipino startups.

 So when I became a legislator, Mr. President, I was determined to push for policies that empower our Filipino SMEs. .

 The first law I passed was the Go Negosyo Act and I am happy to report that there are now over 500 Negosyo Centers around the Philippines. We’ve also passed the Youth Entrepreneurship Act and other laws that support the development of our micro, small and medium enterprises or MSMEs.

But, Mr. President, there is still much more we can do to encourage our start-ups, particularly our innovative and technology startups.

They are businesses that provide unique and relevant solutions to our problems, from daily hassles, like finding a taxi during rush hour, to improving the delivery of healthcare, providing support for our farmers, and addressing unemployment.

 And today, Mr. President, I would like to share some of these solutions.

The first is HealthBlocks. HealthBlocks focuses on the issue of complicated and extensive personal healthcare information.

In countries like Australia and England, health records are centralized for better access to accurate health information about patients.

 HealthBlocks took this idea and created an application that can facilitate the centralization of health information in the Philippines, around Asia, and anywhere in the world.

Imagine all your health records accessible at the touch of a button and easily and  securely given to your doctors, healthcare providers, and even insurance companies.

HealthBlocks will not only improve convenience but will allow for better diagnosis and treatment of patients, Mr. President.

 Another startup, Mr. President,  is called Cropital. Cropital is attempting to solve the problem of many of our farmers, and this is the lack of access to loans with reasonable terms.

This start-up allows anyone to sign up online and choose a local farming community to invest money in.

They then manage the funds of each farm and ensure that your money goes to the right resources.

 After harvest season and the farmer’s produce is sold, the investor gets his returns based on the agreed upon terms with the community.

 Through technology and the concept of crowdsourcing, Cropital  is able to match our farmers with those with the means to invest, empowering farmers in their agribusiness. Another innovative solution, Mr. President!

My third example, Mr. President, is Virtualahan. Virtualahan is attempting to solve the problem of unemployment.

 Virtualahan actually stands for “virtual eskwelahan”, which provides digital skills training for persons with disabilities or PWDs, unemployed youth, and full time parents so they can be hired as virtual assistants for NGOs and social enterprises around the world.

 To solve the problem of unemployment, Virtualahan is using to the power of technology and the internet – which is why we must also work to improve the internet services in the country, Mr. President!

 But back to our innovative businesses, Mr. President, HealthBlocks, Cropital, Virtualahan are just 3 of over 200,000 start-ups in the Philippines with the potential to solve our country’s problems and contribute to the lives of Filipinos through the products they create and the jobs they generate.

This  Innovative Startup Act aims to give these startups a better chance of succeeding by reducing barriers to their success.

This policy seeks to support innovative startups, first, through financial subsidies like tax breaks and grants; second, through ease of doing business through their registration; and third, through technical assistance and training programs.

 Plus, there is a provision for an Innovative Startup Venture Fund of 10 billion pesos that startups can apply for.

 Through this measure, innovative startups will also be entitled to free use of equipment, facilities, and other services from government agencies, such as testing and fabrication facilities, and services for the patenting or licensing of their product with the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines.

Mr. President, let’s take this opportunity to empower our innovators and entrepreneurs with a heart for nation-building.

 Ipasa po natin ang Innovative Startup Act at himukin ang ating mga makabagong negosyante na lumikha ng mga solusyon para sa bayan! Maraming salamat po, Mr. President, and I encourage all of my colleagues to support Senate Bill 1532, under Committee Report No. 142, the Innovative Startup Act. Maraming Salamat, Mr. President. 

Sen. Bam sponsors start-up bill in Senate

Senator Bam Aquino sponsored a measure that will give over 200,000 innovative start-up businesses in the country a better chance of succeeding through tax breaks and other forms of assistance, including a P1 billion venture fund where they can apply.

 In his sponsorship speech for Senate Bill No. 1532, Sen. Bam lauded innovative start-up businesses for finding solutions to the country’s problems.

 “These are startups that provide unique and relevant solutions to our problems, from daily hassles, like finding a taxi during rush hour, to improving the delivery of healthcare, providing support for our farmers, and addressing unemployment,” said Sen. Bam, the principal sponsor and author of the measure as chairman of the Committee on Science and Technology.

As sponsor of the measure, he said the Innovative Startup Act will reduce barriers that hamper the start-ups’ march to success.

“Let’s take this opportunity to empower our innovators and entrepreneurs with a heart for nation-building. Ipasa po natin ang Innovative Startup Act at himukin ang ating mga makabagong negosyante na lumikha ng mga solusyon para sa bayan,” said Sen. Bam.

 Sen. Bam said the measure will provide support innovative startups through financial subsidies like tax breaks and grants and ease of red tape in business registration. Start-ups will also get technical assistance and training programs that can help them flourish

 If enacted into law, innovative startups will also benefit from free use of equipment, facilities, and other services from government agencies, such as testing and fabrication facilities. They will also get assistance from the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines for the patenting or licensing of their product.

As a former social entrepreneur before he joined the Senate, Sen. Bam has been working for the welfare of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and start-ups by giving them an environment conducive for growth.

Sen. Bam worked for the passage of Republic Act 10644 or the Go Negosyo Act to provide access to markets and financing for businesses, training programs, and a simplified business registration process, helping ease of doing business and hastening government processes in putting up a business.

 

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