UBX, the leading open finance platform in the Philippines, has mounted its first regular mixer event, bringing in founders, industry players, venture capitalists and investors together in a bid to hasten the development of the local start-up scene.

Called the UBX Lounge 48 Mixer, UBX has organized the quarterly social gathering together with communities and organizations such as JCI Manila, Alike Community and Fintech Alliance to allow start-ups to meet, collaborate, and exchange ideas and initiatives over good food and drinks.

“The key to getting through the ever-changing business landscape globally is to be open and to collaborate. We are all part of one ecosystem that supports each other. It is important that we continuously engage and collaborate with the community,” UBX President John Januszczak said.

UBX invited several speakers to the first UBX Lounge 48 Mixer, including former Department of Finance secretary Margarito “Gary” Teves and Gobi-Core Philippine Fund Founding Partner Carlo Delantar.

Teves discussed how alliances were key to succeed in the local start-up scene given the delays in the implementation of key laws and policies that supported the development of start-ups.

He also underscored the need for the Philippines to focus on developing science-based education programs to meet the growing demand for research scientists and engineers — two of the most indemand posts for start-ups.

“The bulk of funding in the last two years were focused on three key sectors: e-commerce, fintech (financial technology) and media tech. We need to further support other important sectors [such as] agritech, edutech, cleantech and healthtech,” Teves said.