Insider Spotlight
• IdeaSpace spotlights six high-potential startups at Demo Day
• Cohort 13 founders pitch tech, sustainability, and lifestyle innovations
• Graduating ventures collectively onboard 12,000 active users
With the theme “Startups for the Future,” the latest batch capped a three-month program launched in August, presenting solutions across technology, sustainability, and evolving consumer lifestyles.
Demo Day marked the founders’ transition toward scaling their ventures through investor engagement and industry partnerships.
Why it matters
The newest cohort underscores IdeaSpace’s continued role in shaping the Philippine ecosystem by backing founders with market-ready products and clear pathways to expansion.
The startups
The six graduates of Cohort 13 represent diverse verticals:
• KaHero, a cloud-based point-of-sale system for small businesses, enabling smarter sales and inventory management across multiple branches
• Soolok Properties Inc., a digital foreclosed property platform using proprietary pricing models to flag best-value real estate deals
• Xure, a mobile marketplace for collectors to safely buy, sell, and trade valuables, backed by expert appraisal and certification
• DashoContent, a hybrid content operations platform combining AI and human specialists to streamline content production
• Cloverly, a tool for developers and brokers that digitizes and speeds up the complex buyer onboarding process.
• Polka Motors, an online platform simplifying and expediting motor vehicle loan applications.
By the numbers
Cohort 13 startups have collectively onboarded more than 588 F&B and general merchandise branches and 350 dealer branches, along with over 12,000 active users.
The cohort also rolled out enterprise pilots, secured follow-on funding, expanded abroad, and built B2B partnerships across sectors such as banking and financial services.
What they’re saying
“IdeaSpace has always been and remains a vital funnel of world-class, early-stage talent to the global community, and we believe the overall future of the Philippine startup ecosystem has never been brighter,” said Rene “Butch” Meily, president of IdeaSpace Foundation.
“The cornerstone of our work is to sustain the ecosystem so that we help more startups that have immense potential to contribute to the economy and national development,” added Alwyn Rosel, executive director of IdeaSpace.
“This cohort embodies that mission, and we are excited to partner with them on their journey to build scalable, sustainable businesses. Demo Day is not an end, but a beginning of crucial collaborations.”
The big picture
Since its launch, the IdeaSpace Accelerator Program has supported more than 150 startups and continues to equip founders with mentorship, investor access, and operational guidance as they advance to their next funding milestones. —Ramon C. Nocon | Ed: Corrie S. Narisma
