The Founder Institute arriving in Manila

The Founder Institute, the Silicon Valley-based startup launch program with over 1,000 graduate companies, is continuously expanding into different cities worldwide. Its next stop: Manila. The program is officially taking its first chapter in the capital this June, where it aims to run two semesters annually with around 15 startups per year.

Prior to the launch, The Founder Institute opened a call for support to have the program in Manila through an online form. It also reached out to various technology entrepreneurs it thought might support the initiative. Between March to April of 2014, over 150 interested entrepreneurs and executives expressed interest to have the program in Manila.

(See: Founder Institute Showcases Its Singapore-Based Startups)

Silicon Valley figures such as Plug and Play Tech Center co-founder Jojo Flores, Coins.ph founder Ron Hose, and Founder Institute founder Adeo Ressi himself have each committed to joining the project’s Manila chapter. Likewise, a handful of startup mentors and entrepreneurs in the local scene have also promised to take part.

Ressi believes Manila is uniquely positioned to build meaningful startup companies. He adds:

There are more startup events and incubators in Manila than in many other developed startup ecosystems, and the Founder Institute can provide Silicon Valley­-inspired training to help improve the skills of entrepreneurs before they apply to incubators and raise seed funding.

Leading the Founder Institute’s efforts in Manila are: Pickld founder Dale David, who also founded non­profit organizations MightyMinds, FilipinoMatters and GoTOTO; startup incorporation specialist David Elefant; and creative software application company IdeyaTech founder Allan Tan.

The Founder Institute Manila has opened applications  for interested aspiring technopreneurs. It will jumpstart the program with a series of precurriculum free startup events this May.