WHEN people hear the term startup hub, they often think about young, dynamic and cosmopolitan areas. Places such as Silicon Valley, Berlin and Singapore have become synonymous as the birthplace of modern business titans such as Google, Facebook, Foodpanda and Grab. It has been a popular notion that startups usually emerge from first-world countries owing to the accessibility to capital, abundance of talent, and extremely pro-business environment that encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to innovate and find disruptive ideas that can change the way people live.

Until recent years, the Philippines hasn't really been known as a place where startups are born. Entrenched conglomerates, political deadlock and the typically conservative outlook of the average Filipino made it challenging for entrepreneurs to bring their ideas to reality. But recent trends have highlighted a major shift in the Philippine landscape.