Block Dojo Philippines remains ‘founder-focused’: Dominic Santiago on CoinGeek Backstage

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The second Block Dojo Philippines bootcamp has successfully concluded, and Cohort 2 is set to graduate this July. As always, nChain was present at the bootcamp to guide the startup founders on integrating blockchain and other emerging technologies into their business models.

Representing nChain was Stephanie Tower, Business Development Lead – Philippines, who shared with CoinGeek Backstage how the global tech firm enables startup founders to utilize blockchain and how the firm helps Bataan toward its digital initiatives.

“In terms of objectives, [nChain] always wants to be able to discover and also join in the fun and the excitement of learning about these creatives as founders and the businesses they’re trying to create,” Tower told CoinGeek Backstage.

“I see a lot of potential among the cohorts that we have, and they just need to go through the process and truly understand how evolving their ideas at this stage into something business-worthy. Also, understanding how tools like blockchain technology, AI, and other technological advancements can help propel their ideas into something revenue generating and most importantly impactful for the social good.”

nChain has supported the regional arm of Block Dojo in the Philippines since its launch in January 2024. As of now, the venture builder successfully graduated three startups in March, which also started their journey in the province of Bataan.

Asked why the province has always been significant not only to Block Dojo Philippines but also to the global blockchain solutions firm, Tower explained that the venture builder has roots in Bataan and will continue shaping the startups there. Another reason is the firm’s commitment to encouraging more emerging businesses to embrace the technology.

“We’ve always been committed to the province of Bataan—to the conversations and continuous discussions with the governor and to the work we are building with the province. Part of that is really contributing significantly to the growth of the province through digitalization initiatives. Block Dojo being here really strengthens that commitment,” she said.

Meanwhile, Block Dojo’s Head of Marketing, Dominic Santiago, shared that he was proud of the developments Block Dojo Philippines has been achieving. Sharing with CoinGeek, Santiago sees that Cohort 2 is by far more diverse than the previous cohort and believes this quality can open up better opportunities, thus creating more impact and change.

“We see that within the Philippines, localization can be a little stronger. There are a few things that we’ve tweaked within the program and outside of it. [There are a lot of things that we take into consideration, [like] the relationships that can be built from within the cohort and how they can be better networked throughout our global stage.”

As for the criteria they considered for tech startups, Santiago said nothing has changed as Block Dojo Philippines has continued to be founder focused.

“We’ve always prided ourselves in the Dojo to be more founder-focused…This hasn’t changed in as much as we do value great ideas,” Santiago remarked.

“One key difference today is that we’ve also incorporated understanding how they can play within our ecosystem because we’re no longer working with just one or two or three different people. We’re not just one, two, three different startups. We are actually an ecosystem player wherein we don’t just contribute to other players, but within the community we’re building.”

Watch Block Dojo Philippines Bootcamp: Filipino entrepreneurs embrace blockchain