A quick Google Search :

Philippine Innovation – 1,260,000 Hits

Innovation in the Philippines - 4,110,000 Hits

Compare this against

Korean Innovation – 2,880,000 Hits / Innovation in Korea – 7,480,000 Hits

Thai Innovation – 1,490,000 Hits/ Innovation in Thailand – 4,510,000 Hits

Indonesian Innovation – 2,290,000 Hits/ Innovation in Indonesia – 5,570,000 Hits

Taiwan Innovation - 4,530,000 Hits / Innovation in Thailand – 1,910,000 Hits

From this alone, it seems that the Philippines is a bit behind compared to other countries in Asia on innovation. Ask about Philippine Innovation or Innovation in the Philippines and you’ll get responses like “Wishful Thinking” and “Hopefully it would happen” but what people are missing is that the Philippine Innovation Avalanche has begun and it is getting larger and larger every moment.

Some Examples of the Avalanche:

Logo © Inovent Designs

1.) Inovent - (www.inoventdesign.com) – The only Industrial Design firm in the Philippines and recently even large and supposed to be “invincible” marketing/advertising firms have bowed down to Inovent. And with their launch of the Ilumina iTV (http://inoventrevolution.wordpress.com), with the aim to launch the Philippine’s first consumer technology brand like Samsung and Apple.

Logo © Rags2Riches, Jacinto Y Lirio and Hapinoy

2.) Rise of Social Entrepreneurship – with  Hapinoy/Microventures (www.hapinoy.com) and Rags2Riches (www.rags2riches.ph) lead by Mark Ruiz, Reese Fernandez, Bam Aquino, Rajo Laurel and many more and they act as the vanguards and trail blazers of Philippine Social Entrepreneurship. Now small social enterprises tackling the problem of water lilies to waterless toilet concepts are spawning in the country bringing about change in the way business is done in the country in a new and radical way where the bottom line is not profit but changing the world into a better place.

Logo © Ateneo Innovation Center

3.) Centers of Innovation – with centers of Innovation such as the Ateneo Innovation Center (http://innovation.ateneo.edu/bin/view/Main/WebHome) encouraging students to do innovation and reactivate the creativity that traditional school has beaten out of the students. The Ateneo Innovation Center has for example launched the Philippine’s first SMS Quality of Service Experiments and is currently conducting Algae for Oil experiments that has recently gotten the attention of the Japanese. Although such centers today are still relatively unknown, the more innovation these centers crank out the more known and appreciated they would be. These are the places where the real action is really happening.

The Ateneo Innovation Center is headed by Greg Tangonan Ph.D.

©Aumio Shahriar via Facebook

4.) Innovative Filipino Teams entering International Competitions and winning – Rags2Riches (www.rags2riches.ph) has set the mood when they won the Business in Development (BiD) Challange in the Netherlands. Recently the Philippine Team “Beleavers” (Tim Huelva, Karl Satintigan and Kim Samson) won the HSBC Regional Awards with their ‘Arekal Leaf Tableware’. High School Students of the Philippine Science High School that make up  “Team Lagablab” also won the First Robotics Competition 2009 in Hawaii .

As technologies become cheaper and more available thanks to Social Enterprises, Corporations and NGOs the Philippine Innovation Avalanche will only grow stronger and move faster.

But innovation is not only confined in the business world, also in the world of NGOs and even in the classroom, new brave people are doing things differently, thinking new thoughts and doing amazing things.

Photo Credits Why Not? Forum

Why Not ? Forum (www.whynotforum.com) the TED.com of the Philippines has been inspiring people to Think new thoughts, Share big dreams and do brave things. With the recent Why Not ? Forum 6 as one of the most successful Why Not? Forums to date. As Why Not ? Forum nudges people to ask Why Not ? the avalanche of innovation will only grow faster and stronger.

©Greenpeace/Rap Rios

I could go on forever talking about innovation everywhere in the Philippines like these students in Mindanao creating a CNN like newscast (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYHYR7svEHo) and the Philippine Electric Jeepney and Tricycles.

As technology becomes more and more democratized and easy to use the effects are spectacular. The only and biggest challenge and obstacle for the Philippine Innovation Avalanche is paradigm. We, Filipinos, still think that we are not good enough, that we could never reach the status of awesomeness. But the thing is that we can, we can be awesome ! but awesome in our own way.

As Floy Quintos said in Why Not ? Forum 6 Let’s be world-class in our own way because no matter what we do we will always be Filipinos, and as Entrepbuff (www.entrepbuff.com) asked in Why Not ? Forum 6 : ” Why Not rebuild a nation doing what they love to do ? ”

Logo © Entrepbuff.com

Right now, most of the nation’s resources are tied up to the old men and women of this country and people who would like the status quo to remain. If only these resources where available to the multitude of entrepreneurs and innovators the Philippines will be on the path to awesome growth and possibly even to 1st world status. But the lack of capital and resources has always been a trivial obstacle to entrepreneurs and innovators, they will always find a way because as Mark Ruiz teaches, it is “Innovate or Die” and if you remember Sun Tzu’s Art of War, on death ground people will fight like caged animals. Right now it is Innovate or Die, we are on death ground and when we are in this mindset the only way is up !

Welcome to the Philippine Innovation Avalanche, and we here at IsangConcepts plan to watch, document and even add more momentum to this Philippine Innovation Avalanche and we hope you would to.

There is no where to hide, running is futile, this avalanche will get to you …it is just a matter of time. So why not ride it instead ?

Oh just in case you are interested the IsangConcepts is planning to get into this Innovation xD

If you have any tips on Philippine Innovation just email us @ Team[at]isangisla.com and we will feature it here in this blog. Help us continue the Philippine Innovation Avalanche

- Matthew Cua

“Because the people who are crazy enough to think
they can change the world,
are the ones who do.”

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