Despite having a gross domestic product of over US$350 billion, a growing tech-savvy population, and a plethora of pain points that can be addressed with technological solutions, the Philippines has yet to spawn a billion-dollar company.

“There’s the informal economy which is not captured in that US$350 billion [GDP figure]. We could easily be at US$500 billion including the informal economy,” says IP Ventures CEO Enrique Gonzalez. “Why is it that we haven’t produced a unicorn?”

In the first installation of this three-episode series, Tech in Asia navigates the Philippines’ startup landscape, looking back to when the ecosystem was first born and discussing the milestones that have led the country’s tech scene to where it is today.

Catch the full Startup Frontiers: The Philippines documentary here.

This entry is part of the Startup Frontiers series, which explores the tech and startup ecosystem of a market, portrays a historical account of the business landscape, dives into the current state of tech and innovation, looks at the key players in the ecosystem, and discusses its prospects for future growth.

This episode was made possible by IP Ventures.