MANILA, Philippines – Silicon Valley veteran Winston Damarillo has coined a term that captures his vision for the future of micro-entrepreneurship in the Philippines: “indie-preneurs.” 

At a media roundtable on Wednesday, September 28, Damarillo said these indie-preneurs are the musicians, the entertainers, the foodies, the artists, the myriad players in the fashion industry, and the e-lancers or digital freelancers.

With today’s technologies, these players have the capability to bring their act to a bigger stage, hopefully resulting in greater economic gains.

Damarillo aims to kickstart this indie-preneur movement at the Open Collaboration with East Asia New Champions (OCEAN) 2016 Summit happening from November 24 to 26 in Bohol.

Damarillo, the managing director of PLDT Capital, is the summit’s chief organizer.

His starting point: the emergence of the “platform economy” best exemplified by sharing apps Uber and Airbnb, which have enabled property owners to mobilize their assets for growth and profit.

The trick now is building the platforms specific to the needs of musicians and foodies.

As Damarillo explained: “Think about Uber for musicians. ‘Sino ba’ng gusto kong banda? May party ako eh.’ (Which band do I want? I have a party.) You can find one [on the platform], rated and ranked. We’re going to teach them how to make money digitally. We’re going to invest in them if they need better guitars, amplifiers, all that stuff. That’s promoting indie-preneurship.”

Talent as an asset

The primary asset, in the case of indie-preneurs, is talent. How does one harness it with an entrepreneurial mindset? Even before the current technological revolution, that’s always been the challenge for creative types.

That challenge, thanks to the rise of the digital stage, should be easier to address now. The discussions centering on these indie-preneurs at OCEAN 16 will be geared towards making that process even easier – whether through mentorship, investing in these talents, or inspiring individuals to be able to say, “Hey, I can do that!”

“Not only are Filipinos good technologically, we’re also probably the most creative people in the ASEAN region. Let’s celebrate that,” Damarillo said.

“What’s important in describing them as indie-preneurs is that we want to describe them as an industry rather than as separate individuals. With an industry, we can create programs; we can invest in them, we can create tax policies, we can protect them, we can promote them,” he added. (READ: Bill to protect freelance workers filed in Senate) 

This is a movement that Damarillo said they’d like to start in Bohol – which currently has a tech-oriented “Digital Bohol” program. 

Eventually, they hope that it will spread across the country. – Rappler.com

Visit ocean16.asia for more information.