GMA Network Inc.’s investment arm will make its foray into the booming healthcare business through a partnership with leading US venture fund Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health (Wavemaker 360).
The partnership between GMA Ventures Inc. (GVI) and Wavemaker 360 will help promising Filipino healthcare entrepreneurs to expand to the US and enable US-based early-stage healthcare firms to expand to Southeast Asia.
“Our partnership with Wavemaker 360 will allow us to enter a hugely profitable segment of healthcare…The Philippines is on an upward trajectory in terms of healthcare innovation, and we are thrilled to have Wavemaker’s team of healthcare experts as our partner in evaluating and funding budding startups at the intersection of healthcare and technology,” said Atty. Felipe L. Gozon, chairman and CEO of GMA Network and GMA Ventures.
For his part, Wavemaker 360 general partner Jay Gross said the unique partnership would “forge a strong pathway of success for healthcare technology startups in the Philippines and essentially bridge the nearly 10,000-mile healthcare gap between the two countries.”
“The health-tech industry is starting to boom in the Philippines and there’s a growing need for new ideas, innovative companies and business leaders who want to make an impact. We’re eager to find and support the Philippines’ next wave of healthcare entrepreneurs and working with GMA Ventures is an ideal jumping off point for us,” Gross added.
Wavemaker 360 has a robust portfolio of healthcare companies in the US and a proven track record of growing companies from early-stage ideas to large-scale global businesses.