Aptos Foundation, which supports the development and growth of the Aptos blockchain, is funding Hiraya Network, a new initiative in the Philippines to discover local talent and support projects that will eventually build within the Aptos ecosystem.
This was revealed by Eli Becislao, co-founder of The BLOKC, the organization leading Aptos Foundation’s Hiraya Network in the country.
A transcript of the interview, translated in English from a mix of English and Tagalog, and condensed for clarity is available at the end of the article.
Funding and Long-Term Support
During the press conference, Becislao said the backing of Aptos Foundation and Aptos Labs will ensure continuous support to bring opportunities to Filipino developers and entrepreneurs.
“We’re very fortunate that we’re supported by foundations like Aptos Foundation and Aptos Labs to bring opportunities to the Philippines,” said Becislao. He emphasized that while the country is rich in tech talent—being the world’s top BPO hub—Filipino developers often lack access to the necessary resources and opportunities to build successful blockchain projects.
“There’s money, and there are foundations ready and willing to support. But the problem is that we don’t have enough eligible projects and startups to present to them,” Becislao explained. Hiraya Network’s mission is to identify and develop these projects to ensure continued support for blockchain innovation in the Philippines.
Main KPI: Economic Impact
When asked about the key performance indicators (KPIs) for Hiraya Network, Becislao made it clear that economic impact is the main metric that will determine the initiative’s success.
“We don’t care if we only produce 100 developers for Aptos in six months—as long as those 100 developers are hired and employed within the Aptos ecosystem. That’s economic impact for us.”
Eli Becislao, The BLOKC
Becislao explained that if Filipino developers are earning $5,000 to $10,000 per month from blockchain projects, or if a handful of startups raise millions of dollars in funding, these outcomes create a ripple effect, generating jobs and contributing to the Philippine economy.
Goal: Uncover Blockchain Potential in the Philippines
As per the press conference, Hiraya Network’s primary objective is to uncover high-potential blockchain projects and talent in the Philippines that can benefit from Aptos’ global programs. These include grants, accelerators and the Aptos LFM—a specialized program supporting Aptos-native projects in their token generation event (TGE) preparations.
“Through lots of activations that we are doing right now, we’ll make it happen for sure.”
Eli Becislao, The BLOKC
Partnerships and Collaborations
The launch of Hiraya Network is supported by several institutions, including:
- Department of Science and Technology – Advanced Science and Technology Institute (DOST-ASTI)
- Department of Information and Communications Technology – ICT Industry Development Bureau (DICT-IIDB)
- Blockchain Lead Organization and Knowledge Center (The BLOKC)
- Ecosystem of Startups-NCR (SCALE NCR)
- iACADEMY and Lyceum of the Philippines University
Full Transcript
BitPinas Reporter: Launching initiatives such as Hiraya comes with costs and expectations. Who is responsible for funding the Hiraya Network, and how is it structured? How long will the support last, and what are the specific KPIs or metrics that will measure its success?
Eli Becislao, The BLOKC: Thank you. Well, technically, for this one, it’s our own problem—joke! (laughs)
We’re very fortunate that we’re supported by foundations like Aptos Foundation and Aptos Labs to bring opportunities to the Philippines. As Emerson mentioned earlier, we have good talent here in the Philippines. We’re the top BPO country in the world, right? That really proves that we have a lot of talented people. (Note: Emerson Fonseca is co-founder of The BLOKC.)
The problem is that we don’t have access to resources, we don’t have access to opportunities, and that’s what Aptos Labs and Aptos Foundation, through Hiraya Network, are bringing to the Philippines.
In terms of funding and how long it will last—I don’t know. But if we can produce really good projects here in the Philippines, they’ll definitely be more than happy to continue supporting startups and projects in the country.
The idea is this, guys: There’s money, and there are foundations ready and willing to support. But the problem is that we don’t have enough eligible projects and startups to present to them. So, it’s really our goal to uncover those projects so that they’ll keep supporting the Philippines because they see huge potential here.
As for the KPIs, of course, I can talk about that. Since Aptos is a Layer 1 blockchain protocol, they’re looking at developers and talent. But actually, our North Star KPI for Hiraya Network is economic impact.
What do we mean by that?
We don’t care if we only produce 100 developers for Aptos in the span of six months—as long as those 100 developers are hired and employed within the Aptos ecosystem. That’s economic impact for us. Imagine if they’re getting paid $5,000 to $10,000 every month—that’s a huge economic impact, right?
It also doesn’t matter if we only have 20 projects produced from the Philippines. But if those projects raise $1 million or $5 million, that’s a huge economic impact because they will be creating jobs in the Philippines as well.
So again, our KPI is economic impact.
We’ll make it happen, for sure—through lots of activations that we are doing right now. So that’s the main KPI that we have for Hiraya Network.
This article is published on BitPinas: Aptos Foundation Funds Hiraya Network to Boost Blockchain Talent and Startups in the Philippines
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