We celebrated the third anniversary of Upgrade Innolab, Inc., a nonprofit business incubator and accelerator for early and growth-stage homegrown Filipino startup companies, last Monday, November 17, 2025, with an intimate dinner at ArtisAna, Davao City.
It was an emotional celebration for Upgrade’s small but incredible team and their partners as they recall their early days and realize how much they have achieved in only three years. And I am happy and proud to have joined their growing community when I met Upgrade Innolab President Richard Day in 2023.
Richard and I first collaborated when we created, together with other stakeholders, the roadmap for the newly-created Davao City Inventions and Innovations Center (DCIIC). This was also when I first discovered that Davao has a thriving startup community led by young entrepreneurs and innovators.
This discovery inspired me so much that I let Richard drag me to all their events and meet all these amazing young people who are carrying on the Davaoeño pioneering spirit in the 21st century. And before I knew it, I have become part of the Davao Angel Investors Network, among other ventures.
Yes, I am so invested in our city’s startup ecosystem now and I credit Upgrade Innolab for being the lead influencer that got me here. That only means it is very effective in what it does.
Upgrade actually stands for University of the Philippines (Mindanao) Growing and Developing Enterprises and Innolab is a combination of innovation and laboratory. It is based in Davao City but includes the entire Mindanao in scope, including the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
It is essentially a startup incubator which provides support, resources, and mentorship to early-stage companies to help them grow and become self-sustaining. But it does not only work with individual startups, it helps build the entire startup and innovation ecosystem in Davao and Mindanao.
Upgrade Innolab has five major programs: (1) Incubation Program; (2) Business Incubator Development Academy; (3) Upgrade Education PH; (4) Gender-Smart Incubation; and (5) Youth-Focused Incubation.
Its incubation program aims to” build, launch, and accelerate impact-driven, profitable, and scalable business ventures.” The Upgrade Founder Lab Program is a six-month customized business incubation program that helps entrepreneurs in firming up their business models, financial systems, and brand positioning, as well as help them improve ways to access capital for growth and scalability.
In just three years, Upgrade Innolab has incubated 60 startups and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). It has facilitated more than 60 million pesos in funding and supported over 3,500 job opportunities across its portfolio and partner ventures. That’s quite an achievement, especially for a nonprofit!
Aside from helping individual startups, it is also organizing and mobilizing more business incubators to multiply its impact. The Upgrade Innolab Academy for Business Incubator Development is a comprehensive three-month program aimed at helping Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), non-government organizations, and government agencies set up and run business incubators. Through this program, it has established at least seven incubators within colleges and universities here in Davao City alone. This has significantly contributed to cultivating an entrepreneurial environment in the city.
Ugrade Education PH, meanwhile, is a capacity development, upskilling, and competency improvement program for business leaders, professionals, and workforce. It provides relevant and industry-focused learning courses online and in person.
Gender-Smart and Youth-Focused Incubation crosscut all the programs, making sure that gender balance is present in the business organizations being incubated and gender-responsive business practices are implemented. Ensuring sustainability also means building the capacity of the new generation of entrepreneurs that is why there is a dedicated program for youth entrepreneurship development.
There is no doubt that Upgrade Innolab has not only contributed to, but actually led, the phenomenal growth of Davao City’s startup ecosystem. It now ranks third among Philippine cities exhibiting the highest ecosystem growth rate at 97 percent, jumping 163 spots globally.
Davao’s growth is remarkable when compared with the country’s overall declining growth with four consecutive years of decline in global rankings. The Philippines has the lowest annual ecosystem growth in Southeast Asia at less than 0.6 percent.
The Davao startup ecosystem is definitely emerging as a major success story within the Philippines, notably bucking national trends with its rapid growth and strong community collaboration. While the country as a whole faces significant structural challenges, Davao has carved out a distinct path forward.
Upgrade Innolab has blazed this trail that is grassroots and community-driven with strong collaboration among business, academe, civil society, and government. It is one of the pillars of the powerful consortium that is the Innovation and Development Accelerators Consortium for Startups in the Davao Region, more popularly known as IDEAS Davao, which was recognized with a Presidential Award for its work.
It is also the engine behind the Davao Startup Week, an annual event which is a central platform for showcasing innovation and nurturing connection among all stakeholders in the Davao and Mindanao startup ecosystem.
Upgrade Innolab is a three-time “Outstanding Incubator” awardee and that is why the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) named it a “Home for Global Startups.” The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) also recognized it with an “Impact Catalyst of the Year” award.
Indeed, Upgrade’s first three years proved that a Davao-based incubator can build serious, fundable, and globally-competitive startups from Mindanao. That startup founders need not uproot themselves from their hometown to be taken seriously and be visible to Metro Manila-centric deal flows.
As it enters its fourth year, Upgrade Innolab launches its circular economy acceleration program with an integrated funding facility for sustainability-focused startups in Mindanao. Supported by the European Union-Philippines (EU-PH) Green Economy Partnership, it will not only incubate green startups, it will also help accelerate the country’s transition to a greener economy while sustaining economic growth.
Davao City’s innovation direction is to become an inclusive, creative, smart, and green city. At the heart of that is Upgrade Innolab, Inc. I am excited to see how it will help showcase innovative solutions from Davao and Mindanao for the global economy in the coming years.
