By Tracy Cabrera
BAGUMBAYAN, Quezon City — The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) is urging businesses to use satellite data to support their existing operations and create new products while enhancing their services.
According to PhilSA acting director general Dr. Gay Jane Perez, they are already working with startups, organizations, and companies to develop their abilities to integrate satellite data with other datasets, including demographic and population statistics, transportation, energy consumption, and socioeconomic information.
The goal, Dr. Perez said, is to innovate and see satellite data not as something distant or highly specialized but as a building block—one that can be combined with existing technologies and local knowledge to solve real problems.
“Combining these datasets can help businesses identify market opportunities, improve services, optimize operations, and develop solutions to specific industry challenges,” she cited.
Aside from providing relevant satellite information, PhilSA is also conducting the Space Business Innovation Camp, a seven-week online mentoring program designed to equip participants with knowledge on transforming business ideas into satellite-enabled solutions.
“Participants receive mentorship in finding the problem-solution fit, understanding the market and defining the value proposition, some of the topics that are relevant in early-stage venture development,” Dr. Perez noted.
The program provides opportunities for further development and commercialization as participants gain access to potential research and development collaborators, startup funding programs, and incubation or acceleration programs.
In ending, PhilSA’s head enjoined interested individuals or groups to avail of the program offer in order to enhance their operational capabilities.
“Participants who demonstrate a viable business idea will have a chance to join the pitching event before a panel comprised of various funding and financing institutions, technical experts, and industry practitioners by the end of the program in November,” she concluded.
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