Dubbed as a Technology Business Incubator (TBI), the Benilde Hub of Innovation for Inclusion (HiFi) helps entrepreneurs and creative pioneers realize their unfinished projects. Offering a variety of programs and tools, their goal is to help these individuals turn their ideas into a reality.
Founded in 2016, the goal of this DOST-accredited institution is simple—to help start-ups grow into businesses valued at a billion dollars. Located at the Peter D. Garrucho Jr. Innovations Institute, along the stretch of Pablo Ocampo St. in Malate, Manila, this center for innovation is a space where creatives and entrepreneurs gather to further develop their ideas, accomplished through their incubation services that include training, curation, crowdfunding, and acceleration.
A launchpad for visionaries
Among the 58 other TBIs in the country, only four focus on working with creative industries and Benilde HiFi makes one of them.
Mr. Earl Marquez, founder of Akosi Music PH and a HiFi personnel, shared in his interview with The Benildean how HiFi helped bring his start-up to life through intentional mentoring. “It's like taking another college course, with their programs, they provide networks and opportunities with potential investors,” he ended.
Akosi Music PH is a creative music-tech start-up that creates collectable, tech-enabled music products that bridge the gap between artists and their audiences.
Similarly, Sane&Co. founder and ID119 BS-Industrial Design Benildean alumnus, Mr. Wayne George, shared how HiFi helped his business gain traction through opportunities to attend talks and bootcamps that helped him strategize how to start up his company, providing him with learning opportunities.
George described Sane&Co. as “a bridge in the gap of quality luxury products sustainably manufactured in the Philippines, marketed to the international market.” From jewelry to leather works, clothing, and other merchandise, his collection of products are locally made and hopes to cater to a wide audience.
Aside from providing entrepreneurs with learning opportunities, the institution also propels their businesses forward using crowdfunding campaigns. Konstratá Leather co-founder and Benilde Fashion Design and Merchandising alumna Ms. Micca Amor shared how her thesis-turned-business of creating leather biomaterial from algae and banana peels transformed into the business she has today with the help they received from HiFi.
HiFi also assists businesses that delve into less creative-centered focuses. In her interview, Ms. Mary Grace Silverio, an ID119 BS-Business Administration graduate, cited how HiFi helped in establishing the foundation of TAMBANOKANO AQUA FARM.
“They believed in our vision early on—when it was still just an idea built on passion and lived experience,” she shared.
TAMBANOKANO AQUA FARM turns plastic waste into smart crab farms, effectively creating sustainable livelihoods for fisherfolk and solo parents.
Where creativity meets community
However, not all start-ups become successful businesses, as HiFi Incubation Management Unit Head Ar. Alexander Abear put it, “running a start-up is like running a marathon.”
Despite the many challenges that start-up founders face in the beginning of their careers, Ar. Abear urges them to continue forward, “start-ups demand persistence, adaptability, and a long-term commitment to succeed, and that’s a mindset we strive to instill in every founder we support,” he ended.
When asked why institutions like HiFi are crucial to creative schools such as Benilde, Mr. Kakuei Araral, HiFi’s Community Management Unit Head stated, “As a school-based incubator, it puts Benilde HiFi at the forefront of preparing aspiring startup founders in becoming real-world ready by providing them with the space to start their ideas and connect to the local startup community.”
Ultimately, the institution’s goal is to provide adequate support to those who are brave enough to take the first step forward.
Whether it be through their programs, networking opportunities, or intentional guidance, Benilde HiFi is ready to take on that first step with entrepreneurs willing to take on the challenge. As HiFi Director Mr. Paul Amerigo Pajo Jr. puts it, “there is no better time to start a start-up than now, explore the possibility that you can be part of the greatest generation of Filipino technopreneurs.”
Interested individuals can check out Benilde HiFi’s official website, or their Facebook and Instagram pages for further information.
