Silicon Valley Exchange

Agreement to Support Technology Entrepreneurship

WASHINGTON, D.C.- On November 6,  2015, the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C., the US-Philippines Society (US-PHS), and the Science and Technology Advisory Council – Silicon Valley (STAC-SV) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that institutionalizes the linkage between the two organizations in supporting technology-enabled entrepreneurship.

The agreement serves as a platform for collaboration between the two organizations  and enables them to  support technology-enabled entrepreneurship through STAC-SV’s immersion programs, including its workshops, which will take place primarily in Silicon Valley. The MOA is also a took to promote entrepreneurial growth, business development, and leadership in the Philippines.

The US-Philippines Society Executive Director Hank Hendrickson and STAC-SV President Christina Laskowski signed the MOA at the Philippine Embassy in presence of Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose L. Cuisia, Jr., Ms. Christina Le of the U.S. Department of State, US-PHS President John F. Maisto and Embassy officials.

As an initial project, STAC-SV and the US-Philippines Society will work together in the execution early next year of a prototype Silicon Valley immersion program designed for the winners of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company’s (PLDT) SMART SME Nation ” Be The Boss” 2015 competition. This is intended as a first-step in a continuing process of high tech exchanges.

In her remarks at the ceremony, Ms. Le lauded the project as “another demonstration of the strong bilateral relationship of the United States with the Philippines.” Ambassador Maisto characterized the program as exciting and modern, especially since it involved young entrepreneurs.

Ms. Laskowski expressed a strong sense of optimism and excitement about the program noting the “very healthy ecosystem for investors and entrepreneur” that now exists in the Philippines under the Aquino Administration. She also noted that such ecosystem benefits not only the MSME’s that are active participants, but also the communities around them. “Technology-enabled entrepreneurship is also women empowering,” she added.

In his remarks during the signing ceremony, Ambassador Cuisia expressed the hope that “this institutional relationship that we have witnessed sealed this afternoon will result in projects that will allow the young men and women of our two great nations to learn from each other and unleash their collective creativity and entrepreneurship with a view to more productivity and competitiveness in the global market place. For truly, in this world transformed, the only limits to the creativity of our people, especially the young, are their imaginations.”

L-R: US-Philippines Society President Ambassador John F. Maisto, Deputy Chief of Mission Patrick Chuasoto of the Philippine Embassy, Christina Laskowski, President of STAC-SV, Christina Le of the Department of State, US-Philippines Society Executive Director Hank Hendrickson, and Commercial Counsellor Raymond Batac of the Philippine Embassy