About Startup Venture Fund (National Development Company)
The Startup Venture Fund is a direct government investment vehicle created under the Philippines' Innovative Startup Act (Republic Act 11337), administered by the National Development Company (NDC), an agency under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Capitalized at ₱250 million and launched in November 2021, it makes direct co-investments into qualifying Filipino startups alongside accredited private-sector co-investment partners — a distinct role from partners such as IdeaSpace or Gobi-Core Philippine Fund (both separately listed in this directory), which are private co-investment partners of the fund rather than the government fund itself.
A confirmed direct investment example is a ₱11 million commitment into SolX Technologies, a Philippine solar-energy startup, made in June 2024.
Investment Thesis
As a government fund operating under RA 11337, the Startup Venture Fund's mandate is to catalyze private investment into innovative Philippine startups by co-investing alongside accredited private-sector partners, rather than acting as a sole, independent lead investor. Its investment activity is therefore best understood as complementary to, and often triggered by, the deal flow of its accredited co-investment partners (which include IdeaSpace, QBO, and Gobi-Core Philippine Fund, among others), with confirmed direct deployment such as its SolX Technologies investment demonstrating that it does write real, individually disclosed checks rather than only providing passive matching capital.
Portfolio Companies
SolX Technologies