Before 2020, it wasn’t that easy to get most things online. More so ten years ago when in-store retail reigned supreme, and people started to go pale with anxiety when asked to type in their credit card details. Though it was frustrating for some early online players, Zalora Philippines co-founder Paulo Campos III spotted a golden opportunity.

Campos left his job at Boston Consulting Group to found Zalora Philippines. Under his aggressive direction, it soon became top-of-mind for Filipino online shoppers, coming second to none in the fashion sphere. But that’s just the start of entrepreneur’s ambitious dream.

Campos is also a founding partner of an early-stage venture capital firm that was committed to building, supporting, and investing in the next generation of companies driving digital transformation in commerce and critical services. When he looked around, Campos realized that he was also an early player in another realm.

"The Philippines is one of the hottest markets for tech investment in Southeast Asia, with investors flocking to our shores to learn more about the local ecosystem,” Campos shares. “While the opportunities for transformational tech-enabled ventures abound locally, there are gaps in the number of founders looking to start ventures, and the experience to know how to navigate the early stages of a venture, from zero to 1."

Though Kaya Founders kept a low profile during the pandemic, the country is starting to experience what Campos is talking about. In August of this year, leading open finance technology firm Brankas partnered with Kaya Flounders to launch Open PHinance Challenge - an eight week accelerator program to generate innovative, high-value open finance products for early-stage startups. The following month, Poblacion-based gastropub Keepers launched the Keepers NFT, which was developed with Kaya Founders. Patrons can avail of special benefits using the NFT, which replaces the traditional bistro card.