The Launchgarage Global Accelerator Exchange — Bridging the Gap Between Local Entrepreneurs and the Global Market
Launchgarage Innovation Hub is excited to announce the launch of the Global Accelerator Exchange which aims to bridge the gap between entrepreneurs and the global market by conducting year-round inbound and outbound accelerator programs with our local, regional and global partners. This program will provide companies with the opportunity to connect with key industry players through the Launchgarage network, gain unique market insights from experts, obtain support for research and development, and the facilitation of deals/investments.
Launchgarage is the premiere startup accelerator in the Philippines. Following a series of successful investment and deal flow sessions, we are now moving to create more value for our ventures that have shown tremendous growth over the past few months through the Global Accelerator Exchange. Our engagement with Plug and Play Tech Center, one of the world’s largest technology accelerators, enables Launchgarage to boast of an unmatched network of experts, corporations, entrepreneurs, and venture capital firms.
Over the past 5 months, several of our ventures were able to raise funds for their startups:
- Acudeen Technologies (Raised $35,000,000 via ICO)
- Uploan (Raised $810,000)
- Magpie.im (Raised $500,000 via Cerebro Labs)
- Diplomazee (Undisclosed)
- Taxumo (Raised $250,000 via REAPRA SG)
- Social Light Inc. (Raised $470,000 via Cerebro Labs)
- MiCab (Raised $115,000 Bridge Round via AsiaLink Finance)
Through our inbound and outbound programs, we are able to further assist these companies as they expand their business to other markets both regionally and globally.
LG:GAX Inbound Accelerator Program
The conception of GAX’s Inbound Accelerator comes on the heels of the recently concluded EXPAND Philippines Program which was successfully co-hosted in Manila with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) last May 2018. The second cohort will be conducted in early 2019.
Launchgarage is currently in talks with accelerator partners from China and Singapore to expose them to the Philippine Market, with the pilot program for China expected to run in October of this year.
LG:GAX Outbound Accelerator Program
The GAX Outbound Program is designed to cater to the expansion and exploratory needs of Launchgarage Portfolio Startups, exposing them to different markets around the world and conducting intensive market-fit validation sprints, collaboration/partnership forging through our Corporate Innovation Partners, and meeting various investors in the region.
Launchgarage has arranged exchanges with partnered hubs in South America, Africa, the Middle East, China, and South East Asia, for its outbound programs, with the first expected to be within the year. We are also expecting to accommodate startups from these countries to participate in our inbound accelerators.
In May of this year, Launchgarage founder and CEO, Jay Fajardo, introduced the prototype for LG:GAX at this year’s Global Innovation Gathering (GIG) in Berlin. GIG, a network of innovation hubs from over 30 ecosystems, and on whose supervisory board Jay is a member of, is a perfect partner for LG:GAX.
Tie-up with the Academe in the Philippines
Moreover, we’re currently forging a long-term partnership with the Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD) to assist in the incubation and acceleration of existing and upcoming Technology-Business Incubators (TBI) around the Philippines.
Incubatees coming from various universities nationwide will have access to the Launchgarage suite of services for both incubation and acceleration.
Exclusive deal flow sessions, mentorship, network reach, and the opportunity to join the Global Accelerator Exchange will also be offered. As stewards of grassroots development through innovation, Launchgarage aims to nurture students and young entrepreneurs through these TBIs to help and assist in establishing their ideas into viable and impactful solutions.
The LG:GAX program is a step towards the cultivation of the startup ecosystem in the Philippines paving the way for the establishment of a thriving innovation ecosystem that will be recognized around the world.
Stay tuned for further development on this project. If you’re interested in finding out how Launchgarage can help your startup, shoot us an email via lance@launchgarage.com or russ@launchgarage.com.
