ILOILO City — From barely three aspiring startup teams a decade ago, Western Visayas is now expecting more than 50 student-led technology ventures from as many as 30 colleges and universities – a dramatic rise in youth entrepreneurship as government agencies intensify efforts to turn academic innovations into businesses that generate jobs and stimulate economic growth.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Region 6 said the anticipated surge in participation in this year’s Philippine Startup Challenge reflects a growing shift among young Ilonggos and other students across Western Visayas from seeking employment after graduation to establishing enterprises of their own.
Marvin Manuel, ICT Industry Development Bureau (IIDB) focal person for DICT-6, said the agency has already received more than 20 applications ahead of the regional competition scheduled for October 21, 2026, at the Student Services Building Hall of Iloilo Science and Technology University (ISAT-U).
“DICT caters specifically to technology-based initiatives, and we source our applicants directly from schools. As of now, we already have over 20 applicants. Ten years ago, we would only get two or three applicants, but today, we are expecting no fewer than 50 from an estimated 27 to 30 participating schools across the region,” Manuel shared.
The projected turnout represents a significant expansion of the region’s startup pipeline, with higher education institutions increasingly becoming breeding grounds for technology-driven businesses designed to address community and industry problems.
“It usually starts in schools. Our goal is to encourage our youth to generate creative ideas that have the potential to become viable businesses,” Manuel told Panay News.
The competition will provide aspiring student entrepreneurs an opportunity to present their information and communications technology innovations, gain access to incubation support and potential funding, and develop solutions with commercial applications.
From classrooms to businesses
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Region 6 officer-in-charge regional director Mutya D. Eusores emphasized that the emerging startup movement is not simply about encouraging students to establish businesses but about developing enterprises capable of solving persistent economic and social problems.
“Innovative startups are not your regular business enterprises,” Eusores said.
“They are conceptualized to solve real problems in business and the community. That is why it is critical to partner with academia. When students start this journey in school, it sharpens their critical thinking, builds industry awareness, and aligns research directly with real-world needs,” Eusores emphasized.
She underscored the importance of university-based business incubators in transforming promising student concepts, whether technology-driven or otherwise, into commercially viable enterprises.
Dr. Carmelo V. Ambut, executive director of the Unified Movement in Western Visayas to Accelerate Startup and Spinoff Development (UMWAD-WV), said entrepreneurship is increasingly emerging as an alternative career path for graduates.
“Startup culture gives students an alternative path beyond standard employment,” Ambut explained.
“By incubating their ideas inside universities and participating in regional pitch challenges, young people gain a formal platform to translate raw concepts into operational businesses,” he added.
Former Global Shapers Iloilo curator James Daniel E. Gregori said the growing availability of government-backed startup funding and campus incubation programs is beginning to change the traditional relationship between education and employment.
“The trajectory has completely changed. Today’s youth are far more interested in starting their own businesses and generating opportunities for their communities. Through agency-allocated funding and campus incubators, we are seeing students graduate not as job seekers, but as employers who immediately add value to the local economy,” Gregori said.
Turning research into jobs
Beyond encouraging entrepreneurship, regional authorities are also strengthening efforts to commercialize university research, which often remains confined to academic institutions despite its potential economic value.
French A. Dampog, director of the Capiz State University (CAPSU) Intellectual Property Management Office, highlighted a collaborative initiative involving the Commission on Higher Education, CAPSU and the University of the Philippines Visayas.
The initiative, titled “Student-based Incubation Program: Bridging Technology and Entrepreneurship by Optimizing Ideas to Leverage Start-up Development,” seeks to establish structured support for student innovations, intellectual property development and technology transfer.
Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-6 Regional Director Engr. Rowen R. Gelonga, CESO II, said the ultimate measure of the region’s emerging startup ecosystem should be its ability to produce sustainable businesses and employment opportunities.
“What we want to see in the Western Visayas startup community are viable enterprises that generate jobs and drive regional economic growth,” Gelonga said.
“We achieve that by linking university research outputs directly to commercial startup opportunities—transforming research into market-ready products,” he added.
Gelonga stressed that the success of the initiative would depend on sustained cooperation among educational institutions, government agencies and private enterprises.
“We need creative, bold students, and we team up with universities because they are the ones generating groundbreaking ideas,” he stressed.
“We want to see them transform from academic researchers into successful business owners. This is an interconnected ecosystem where the academe, government, and private sector must work side-by-side to achieve our regional aspirations,” Gelonga added.
Iloilo to host regional startup gathering
The growing momentum in youth entrepreneurship will also take center stage during the 3rd Western Visayas Innovative Startup Fest on October 22 to 24, 2026, at the SM Iloilo Terminal Market in Iloilo City.
Organized by DOST-6 and partner institutions, the three-day gathering will bring together startup founders, investors, technology developers, students and business leaders to explore opportunities for innovation and enterprise development.
Carrying the theme “Scaling the Region’s Startup Ecosystem: Enabling Founders, Driving Innovation,” the festival will feature startup pitch competitions, technology exhibits, policy discussions and networking activities.
The event is expected to strengthen partnerships that could help promising student innovations move beyond classroom demonstrations and become market-ready products and services.
For regional development advocates, the anticipated jump from two or three startup applicants a decade ago to more than 50 this year underscores the expanding entrepreneurial ambitions of Western Visayas’ youth.
The greater challenge, however, will be converting that enthusiasm into commercially sustainable enterprises capable of creating jobs, attracting investment and delivering lasting economic benefits to communities across the region./PN
