The Philippines is regarded as one of Southeast Asia's most attractive venture capital (VC) destinations, yet only a tiny fraction of that funding reaches women-led startups, according to Kerubin Capital.

“Venture capital in Southeast Asia is looking at what we call the VIPs — Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines — because these are growing economies,” Kerubin Capital Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner Tina Di Cicco told reporters on the sidelines of an event on Wednesday.

Ms. Di Cicco pointed to the Philippines' strong consumer market and English-speaking population as factors that make its startup ecosystem appealing. However, she noted that the country's dearth of women-led startups remains a drawback.

In 2025, approximately $1.5 billion in VC funding was allocated to Philippine startups, but just 3.6% of that amount went to women-led enterprises, she said. That share works out to roughly $54 million, underscoring how narrowly capital reaches women founders even in one of the region's favored funding destinations.

To help close the gap, Kerubin Capital is rolling out the Philippines' first Gender-Smart Investing Directory and Map. Gender-smart investing refers to capital strategies that deliberately weigh gender in investment decisions, from backing women-led companies to assessing how deals affect women as founders, employees, and customers. Built in partnership with the Australian government's Investing in Women initiative, the platform enables female founders to filter capital sources and growth initiatives by funding stage, industry focus, and location. Investment professionals, meanwhile, can identify pipeline candidates outside traditional circles and pinpoint partners committed to gender-lens capital deployment.

“Qualifying entities missing from the portal are encouraged to register, ensuring the platform dynamically expands alongside the market it empowers,” Kerubin Capital said in a separate statement.

How far the directory's coverage grows through such registration — and how future allocations compare with 2025's 3.6% share for women-led startups — will offer concrete markers of whether the funding gap narrows.

Ms. Di Cicco added that angel investors remain eager to deploy capital into startups despite prevailing economic uncertainty. “Philippine GDP (gross domestic product) is not as high as it used to be but… investors are not thinking short-term,” she said.

The Philippine economy expanded 2.3% in the second quarter, down from 5.4% a year earlier, after the Middle East conflict weighed on household spending and investor sentiment.

Among the startups drawing investor interest, she noted, are those working in artificial intelligence, financial technology, healthcare, climate action, and compliance and governance.

Launched in 2021, Kerubin Capital is the Philippines' first dedicated catalytic capital fund for women founders — a structure that deploys patient, risk-tolerant funding to unlock investment in underserved segments. It was established as the gender-focused fund of the Manila Angel Investors Network.

Source: BusinessWorld — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz