Davao City Rises to 3rd Place Among PH’s Top Startup Ecosystems

Davao City has officially claimed the third spot among the Philippines’ top startup ecosystems, moving up from its previous fourth-place ranking in 2024. In StartupBlink’s 2025 Global Startup Ecosystem Report, Davao is the only Philippine city to have improved its national position and now boasts the highest national ecosystem growth rate at 97%. Globally, the city jumped an impressive 163 spots, securing its new position as the 580th best startup ecosystem in the world.

Richard Day, Project Development Officer of IDEAS Davao, credits this progress to strong collaboration among the city’s ecosystem stakeholders.

Over the past two years, we’ve focused on strengthening Davao City’s startup ecosystem by bringing in financial institutions, accelerators, cooperatives, and investors to support homegrown innovation. Through our Plugin x Provinces program, we’ve also begun activating ecosystems beyond the city. At the core of everything we do is a message to the global business community: Davao’s startup DNA—rooted in resilience, creativity, and innovation—is rising, and we’re committed to moving upward, year after year,” Day said.

Established in 2021 through the initiative of the DOST Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD), IDEAS Davao is the Davao region’s official startup consortium, committed to driving innovation from the grassroots level. With stakeholders from LGUs, government agencies, the private sector, and higher education institutions, the consortium has assisted in the development of over 150 startups in the regions overseen by multiple technology and business incubators.

IDEAS Davao’s numerous ecosystem activation activities include the annual Davao Startup Week, the Plug-In Program, Founder’s Forum, the Mindanao TBI Summit and the Nextstage Acceleration Program.

While the Philippines overall experienced a slight decline, falling four spots to 64th place globally, three of its six ranked cities improved their global standing: Davao, Iloilo, and Naga. Despite the national drop, the country still recorded a modest annual ecosystem growth rate of 0.6%. Multiple public sector initiatives have also gained traction in recent years, such as the Innovative Startup Act, Tatak Pinoy (Proudly Filipino) Act, and the CREATE MORE Act, which present more opportunities for Filipinos to access innovation initiatives by the government. This, on top of the Philippines’ status as Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing digital economy, shows immense potential for local founders to tap into technology-forward consumers.

“The Philippines is making progress toward becoming a formidable startup ecosystem in the Asia-Pacific region. The country enjoys a talented English-speaking population, with many already working remotely for international startups. Its attractiveness to foreign entrepreneurs and digital nomads, combined with the massive knowledge that local remote workers have gained while working in international startups, should allow for successful ecosystem growth—provided more of the local population embraces entrepreneurship,” the 2025 report states.

StartupBlink is a global innovation economy platform that manages the world’s most comprehensive startup ecosystem map and research database. Its annual Startup Ecosystem Report, launched in 2017, ranks more than 1,400 cities and 110 countries based on startup activity, impact, and the enabling conditions for ecosystem growth.

With this ascent, IDEAS Davao invites entrepreneurs, investors, or partners to explore opportunities in Davao’s startup scene, especially as we gear up for Davao Startup Week 2025 in September of this year.