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Review | Applied Innovation for Community Development | Volume 1 - Issue 1 - 2026 | 25−36 |
© 2026 by the author(s), and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License

Entrepreneurship Incubation in the Philippines: A Systematic Review of Programs, Performance, Challenges, and Future Directions

Author(s): Carlos P. Reyes , Daniel A. Bautista
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University of Santo Tomas, 1817 España Blvd, Sampaloc, Manila, 1008 Metro Manila, Philippines

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Applied Innovation for Community Development

Volume 1 - Issue 1 - 2026

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Entrepreneurship incubation has emerged as a cornerstone strategy for nurturing technology-based startups and fostering innovation-driven economic development across Southeast Asia. In the Philippines, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and other public-private institutions have built a growing network of Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) since the 1990s, significantly expanding their scope and impact by the 2020s. This systematic review synthesizes empirical literature, policy documents, and program evaluations to examine the evolution, structural composition, performance outcomes, and systemic challenges of entrepreneurship incubation in the Philippine context. Drawing on 40 peer-reviewed journal articles, the review identifies four thematic domains: (1) the historical development and policy architecture of Philippine incubation programs; (2) the operational characteristics and absorptive capacity of university-linked TBIs; (3) critical success factors and key barriers; and (4) comparative analysis with regional peers and future strategic recommendations. The review finds that while the Philippine TBI ecosystem has demonstrated measurable progress in startup graduation rates, intellectual property outputs, and job creation, structural challenges, including funding fragmentation, urban bias, gender gaps, and limited post-incubation support, continue to constrain its full potential. Actionable directions for policy reform, inclusive incubation models, and digital transformation are proposed.

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SUBMITTED: 13 June 2026
ACCEPTED: 03 September 2026
PUBLISHED: 17 September 2026
SUBMITTED to ACCEPTED: 83 days

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Reyes, C. P. ., & Bautista, D. A. . (2026). Entrepreneurship Incubation in the Philippines: A Systematic Review of Programs, Performance, Challenges, and Future Directions. Applied Innovation for Community Development, 1(1), 25−36. Retrieved from https://tecnoscientifica.com/journal/aicd/article/view/1255
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