THE 6th annual Geeks On A Beach (GOAB) has been revived and being held at the Bellevue Resort, Panglao, Bohol on November 23 and 24, 2023 after a five-year hiatus.
GOAB hosted the international conference gathering hundreds of entrepreneurs, innovators, investors and global leaders in technology startup and design to tackle insightful discussions and opportunities.
The Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) and the GeeksPH led the way of the gathering of people around the globe for “leveraging Philippine tourism and ICT industry” during the Startup Week 2023.
“We express our strong support for the growth of the startup industry and the ICT sector in general, as we strive to position ourselves as a practical destination of our freelancers and digital nomads and enable them to take part in writing the next chapter of our history.” Gov. Aris Aumentado said in his speech during the closing ceremonies at Bohol Cultural Center.
GOAB took to plenary sessions exploring potential investment opportunities and breakout sessions that focused on sector-specific topics like FinTech, EduTech, HealthTech, AgriTech and ClimateTech, the statement said.
The event also featured emerging technologies discussions, pitching fest, business matching, investor’s roundtable and exhibits from various stakeholders.
The activity strengthens the DICT Startup program, celebrates the positive impact of Republic Act 11337, the Innovative Startup Act (ISA) and highlights the years-long work of department for the Philippine startup ecosystem. This includes the Philippine Startup Challenge, now on its 8th iteration, which encourages senior high school and college students to create innovative ICT solutions that address social concerns.
DICT secretary Ivan John Uy who actively participated in the gathering said, “The Department has made the development of the country’s ICT ecosystems a priority by creating a portfolio for ICT Industry Development handled by Undersec. Jocelle Batapa-Sigue and by implementing several programs geared towards the nurturing of the country’s startup ecosystem, such as the Digital Startup Development and Acceleration Program.”
Sec. Uy said GOAB, along with other ICT initiatives, recognizes the Philippines progressing startup ecosystem led by a budding unicorn likes Mynt, PayMongo and Voyager Innovations. He considered these successful entities as proof of Filipino startups considerable potential and investability.
GOAB founding members are Tina Amper of GeeksPH, Dave Overton of Symph, Mark Deutsch of Happy Garaje and Doris Isubal-Mongaya of PRWorks.
Manny Ayala of Hatchd and endeavor PH, Plug and Play Tech Center’s Jojo Flores, Shoppable’s Chris Blanquera, Stephanie Caragos of Syntactics, Embiggen Group’s Paul Pajo and Christina Laskowski of Silicon Valley-based Science and Technology Advisory group serve as GOAB advisors. (rvo)
