Columnist urges startup sector to recognise Mindanao's grassroots innovators

The writer of the Mindanao Times column "Mondays with Patmei" argues that the Philippine startup ecosystem defines innovation too narrowly, favouring apps and investor pitches over community-based enterprises in places like Mindanao.

The columnist wrote after attending Philippine Startup Week, held November 9 to 12, 2026 at the MICE Center in Quezon City, as a co-founder of GreenTayo. According to the column, GreenTayo is an initiative of the Mothers for Peace Social Enterprise, Inc. that is building community infrastructure to make refills of local, natural home and personal care products affordable for grassroots communities. It belongs to Circulab's first cohort of seven Mindanao ventures, an acceleration program backed by the European Union-Philippines Green Economy Partnership and implemented by Upgrade Innolab, Inc.

The event, an official side event of the Philippines' ASEAN chairship ahead of the 49th ASEAN Summit, focused on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, automation and digital transformation. The columnist credits organisers for their ambition but argues the agenda treats innovation as something that only happens on a screen.

Citing examples such as a women-run halal food hub that solved cold storage without software, a solar dryer designed with farmers, and the traditional paluwagan savings system, the writer argues that Mindanao communities have long innovated but are usually cast as beneficiaries or market segments rather than as innovators. The column traces this to colonial-era ideas of modernisation that were later rebranded as startup culture modelled on Silicon Valley.

The columnist calls on funders to offer patient capital and grants instead of equity, noting that a profitable social enterprise employing seven people and growing steadily over a decade does not fit venture-capital expectations of rapid growth and a quick exit. "Hunger is not a UX (user experience) problem," the writer says, while stressing the column is not anti-technology.

The piece asks Philippine Startup Week organisers to add a barangay stage and invite grassroots women to speak, and urges investors to "learn our language before you ask us to learn yours." It also encourages young Mindanao women not to let anyone dismiss their ventures as non-startups simply because they lack an app.