In this episode of the Mission Driven Podcast, I speak with Rogerine Miguel-Irvine, former Chief for Strategic Policy and Innovations at the National Economic and Development Authority , about her work to build a national framework for innovation and entrepreneurship.

Rogerine shares her journey from building a social enterprise supporting indigenous weaving communities to helping shape national innovation policy in the Philippines. We explore why governments often struggle to support entrepreneurs, the barriers startups face navigating bureaucracy, and why innovation policy frequently fails at the implementation stage.

We also discuss the role of procurement in supporting startups, the challenge of fragmented systems, why human capital and R&D investment matter, and what it was like bringing an entrepreneurial mindset into government itself.

This conversation is a candid look at the realities of building innovation ecosystems — and why governments must evolve if they want entrepreneurs to help solve the major economic and social challenges ahead.

Key Takeaways:

1. Governments should support innovation ecosystems — not control them.

2. The Philippines has strong talent and innovation output, but struggles with implementation and commercialization.

3. Bureaucracy and outdated procurement systems remain major barriers for startups and innovators.

4. Policy making improves when entrepreneurs and private-sector voices are directly involved in the process.

5. Procurement reform could become one of the most powerful tools governments use to support startups and innovation

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