Digital Pilipinas, one of the largest private-sector movements for creating a technology and innovation system geared to tech-ing up the country, is putting together a series of activities to celebrate digital adoption in the ASEAN region.
Dubbed “Digital Pilipinas Festival (DPF),” the month-long event is aimed at strengthening the country’s regional presence in the fintech and technology space while also supporting the continuing growth of the country’s digital economy, which, according to the DICT, could reach up to P5 trillion by 2030.
From October 17 to 21 this year, the DPF will be bringing together more than 200 prominent ASEAN leaders from the public and private sectors including regulators, CEOs, CTOs, CIOs, venture capitalists, investors, tech and digital innovators, MSMEs, pioneering startup founders, entrepreneurs, and senior policymakers.
The digital festival will also kick off the month-long ASEAN Fintech Festival and will be followed by a similar series of festivals in Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, and the annual Singapore Fintech Festival.
Making the Philippines a powerful player in the ASEAN region
According to Amor Maclang, one of the convenors of Digital Pilipinas, “The DPF is envisioned to make the Philippines a powerful player in the ASEAN region. The country’s digital economy, which economists have forecasted to reach a value of $92 billion by 2030, is poised to make our country even more competitive in the regional FinTech and other tech space.”
The DPF is comprised of two parts: the inaugural Philippine Fintech Festival (PFF), which will focus on the specific challenges, issues, and innovations that the country is now faced with; and the World FinTech Festival-Philippines (WFF-PH), which will highlight the development of fintech and various kinds of tech in the ASEAN region.
“Together, Digital Pilipinas and the PFF will compose the country’s largest Digital Economies Festival,” she adds.
The Philippine FinTech Festival is a week-long event that brings together legacy brands, innovators,
technologists, government regulators, MSMEs, and startups into an ecosystem that champions the digital and cross-border future of our country. Alongside it is the World FinTech Festival Philippines, an ecosystem that is supporting the digital growth of the ASEAN region and economy.
These two events form part of the overall DPF event, which is also being conducted in partnership with Elevandi, one of the biggest movers for FinTech in the world and the organizer of the Singapore FinTech Festival.
The WFF-PH and the PFF are supported by the governments and fintech associations of Israel, Hungary, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Cambodia.
PFF to showcase unique nation-building capabilities of emerging technologies
A major highlight during the 5-day PFF series is the launch of the MAS Hackcelerator Program, powered by Digital Pilipinas and think tank Oliver Wyman, which will recognize ground-breaking innovations that advance society towards Web 3.0.
Trade associations such as the Decentralised Ledger Technology Associations of the Philippines (DLTAP), insurtech, and regtech associations, and similar other relevant industry groups will also be launched.
All the events will showcase the unique nation-building capabilities and strengths of various kinds of emerging, innovative technology: tech for government, mobility and logistics, smart and connected cities, energy, web 3.0 (blockchain, cryptocurrency, cybersecurity, NFT), open data and open finance, e-wallets, suptech, AI and big data, SME digitalisation and e-commerce, wealthtech, fintech, esg and green finance, as well as insuretech and healthtech, and marktech.