Co-Working Space Launches at Philippine Center in San Francisco
From left: Prof. Matthew Escobido of the Asian Institute of Management, Trade Commissioner Celynne Layug, and Consul Jed Llona lead the ribbon-cutting ceremony to formally open Spark 447 space, located at Suite 405 of the Philippine Center. (San Francisco PCG photo)
SAN FRANCISCO 29 October 2019 — A co-working space for Filipino and Filipino-American startups, was officially launched by the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco, the Philippine Trade and Investment Center-Silicon Valley, and the Philippine Center Management Board, at the Philippine Center on 17 October 2019.
The co-working space, named Spark 447, was launched in line with the Consulate’s Spark*Connect*Empower movement, which aims to “spark” love of the Filipino heritage and culture among Filipino-Americans, “connect” them among themselves, and “empower” them to become agents of change among their communities and the country of their ascendants, the Philippines.
Spark 447 will be open for startups owned by Filipino-Americans and Philippine-based startups in need of a business space and/or virtual address in the United States. It will be administered by the Philippine Center Management Board in coordination with Panalo Solutions, a company that is also developing the building’s third floor as a business services hub, tentatively called Kalaworks. Once Kalaworks opens in 2020, startups enrolled in Spark447 can be grandfathered into Kalaworks’ programs.
The workspace consists of two rooms with dedicated workstations and one conference room. The facility shall be open 24/7 and interested applicants may avail of the space for reduced rates, in comparison with market rates in downtown San Francisco. High-speed wireless internet was installed in partnership with PLDT.
The launch of Spark 447 was attended by entrepreneurs, businessmen, venture capitalists, and Filipino-Americans in the tech industry. A delegation from the Asian Institute of Management, comprising of Prof. Matthew Escobido and students from AIM’s Master in Business Administration and Master in Development Management programs, also attended as part of their Silicon Valley Study Tour.
Consul Jed Llona delivered the welcome remarks, in which he shared that the Philippines now has a nascent yet fast growing startup ecosystem. This ecosystem is being built with initiatives such as the QBO Innovation Hub, a public-private partnership that provides co-working space, incubation and accelerator programs, and mentorship for Filipino startups. These efforts are being fueled by a number of universities and higher education institutions that run their own incubator programs. The ecosystem is expected to further develop with the signing of critical legislation such as The Innovative Startup Act and The Ease of Doing Business Act.
A fireside chat on “Bridging the Philippine and Silicon Valley Startup Ecosystems,” which was moderated by Trade Commissioner Celynne Layug, featured panelists Prof. Escobido and Mr. Earl Valencia, founder of Cognity Labs, which runs a virtual incubator program for Philippine startups. Afterwards, the students from AIM presented their “idea-pitch” for possible businesses using solutions and innovations in a variety of fields such as health, environment, and transportation.
Interested Filipino and Filipino-American startups who wish to avail of the services in Spark 447 may check www.spark447.com for details and e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for queries. END
From left: Trade Commissioner Celynne Layug moderates a fireside chat on “Bridging the Philippine and Silicon Valley Startup Ecosystems” with panelists Mr. Earl Valencia, founder of Cognity Labs, and Prof. Matthew Escobido of the Asian Institute of Management. (San Francisco PCG photo)
Photos of the Spark 447 Workspace (San Francisco PCG photo)
For more information, visit https://www.sanfranciscopcg.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.philippinessanfrancisco.org or https://www.facebook.com/PHinSF/.