Officially Republic Act No. 11337, the Innovative Startup Act was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on April 26, 2019, took effect August 6, 2019, and had its Implementing Rules and Regulations signed on November 22, 2019. It defines a “startup” as any person or registered entity in the Philippines developing an innovative product, process, or business model, and creates the official Philippine Startup Development Program to support them.

The law provides real, concrete incentives: subsidies for business registration, expedited government processing, subsidized access to shared facilities, and grants-in-aid for research and development. It also directs the Department of Foreign Affairs to create three dedicated startup visa categories — for startup owners, employees, and investors — making it easier for foreign talent and capital to work with Philippine startups legally.

Three government agencies — DOST, DTI, and DICT — are named as lead implementing agencies, while PEZA is separately tasked with developing dedicated Startup Ecozones.

🇵🇭 Philippine Example

RA 11337 directs PEZA, in coordination with DTI, DOST, and DICT, to establish dedicated Philippine Startup Ecozones — a real, legally mandated extension of PEZA's existing special-economic-zone model built specifically for registered startups.

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