Davao City Startups to Watch in 2027: Verified Companies in Mindanao's Biggest City
Davao City, on the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines, has a young startup scene built around its universities, a regional incubator consortium and a yearly startup week. The 2026 version of this article listed ten Davao startups, from Ampere Technologies to PlantaSeq. When we checked them in November 2026, only one, Mugna Technologies, had an official website confirming that it operates from Davao. For the others we found no website, company record or press release, or only a domain that redirects to adverts. So for this 2027 edition we kept Mugna and added four more companies whose own websites give a Davao City address and show recent activity. That makes five. We did not pad the list.
Quick answer: the Davao City startups to watch in 2027 are Mugna Technologies (software and AI app development), yufin (an app that helps small stores sell, order and accept digital payments), Virtualahan (training and jobs for people with disabilities), Coffee for Peace (a fair-trade coffee social enterprise led by a woman founder) and Aquila Softwares (enterprise and clinic software). For support, start with IDEAS Davao, Upgrade Innolab, the university incubators, DOST Davao Region and Davao Startup Week.
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Why Davao Matters for Founders in 2027
Three things shape startups in Davao. The first is a regional market: many companies here build for Mindanao's small stores, farms and communities first, which the big Manila platforms serve less closely. The second is a dense support network for a city of its size: several universities run technology business incubators, and they work together in the IDEAS Davao consortium with the city government and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). The third is talent: software firms in Davao sell development work to clients abroad, and social enterprises train people who are often left out of the job market.
Davao is the second Philippine city in our series, after Cebu startups to watch. For other Asian scenes, read our lists of Bangkok startups, Dhaka startups, Fukuoka startups and Ulaanbaatar startups, and compare cities in our guide to startup cities in Asia.
Davao City Startups to Watch in 2027 Compared
Sources: each company's official website, checked 8 November 2026. None of them publishes a funding amount.
The Davao City Startups to Watch in 2027
1. Mugna Technologies: software and AI apps built in Davao
Mugna Technologies, the one company kept from the old list, is a software development and design company. It builds custom web and mobile apps, offers developers and designers for hire through staff augmentation, and designs AI-powered applications that automate business workflows. Its site lists more than 100 projects for clients in six countries, including Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom, and more than 50 engineers and designers. Its address is Mugna Tech HQ on City Hall Drive in Davao City. It does not publish funding figures.
Lesson for founders: Mugna sells Davao's developers to clients abroad, then adds AI product work on top. A services company can fund your learning while you look for a product of your own.
Best for: founders of software studios, outsourcing firms and AI agencies.
2. yufin: an app for small stores
yufin is an app for small shops such as sari-sari stores. It lets owners accept digital payments, sell small financial services and vouchers, order stock from suppliers, run a simple point of sale, track inventory and keep a record of what customers owe. An AI feature suggests what to restock based on the owner's budget and what sells in the area, and a partnership with J Agro Traders lets stores order rice. Its site speaks of "tens of thousands" of yufin store owners. According to its about page, yufin launched in the Philippines at the end of 2022 with an initial focus on the South Philippines, and is the merchant brand of Miti Ventures Asia, whose founders previously built the mobile finance company C-SAM. Its contact page lists Yufin Philippines Inc. with an office in Matina, Davao City, and a second office in Makati. It names early-stage and angel investors but no amounts.
Lesson for founders: yufin starts from the store owner's daily problems, such as stock, credit and payments, and adds financial services on top. Solve the boring problem first and the customer will trust you with the rest.
Best for: fintech, retail tech and B2B marketplace founders.
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3. Virtualahan: digital jobs for people who are left out
Virtualahan helps jobseekers from underserved communities, including persons with disabilities, indigenous people and solo parents, into digital work. Its programme combines five weeks of online training in skills such as digital marketing, data and automation, generative AI and graphic design, five weeks of well-being sessions with licensed psychologists and five weeks of job coaching and matching. It also sells strategy, training, matching and audit services to employers. Its site reports more than 2,000 jobs created and more than 50,000 employees reached through its employer work, and lists Accenture's Skills to Succeed programme as a partner since 2017. Its founder and CEO Ryan Gersava was named in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2021, and its address is in Barangay 32-D, Davao City. It does not publish funding figures.
Lesson for founders: Virtualahan earns from both sides: employers pay for inclusive hiring services, and jobseekers get the training. A social mission can still have a paying customer.
Best for: founders in edtech, HR tech and social impact.
4. Coffee for Peace: fair-trade coffee from Mindanao's highlands
Coffee for Peace is the oldest company on this list and a model for impact businesses in the region. According to its story page, Coffee for Peace, Inc. was established in Davao City on 15 April 2008, after its founders helped mediate a local conflict through their peacebuilding network. It buys coffee through fair trade from indigenous farmers in the highlands of Davao and Bukidnon, trains farming communities, and runs a coffee shop in Davao City. On 15 October 2026 Joji Felicitas Pantoja, whom press quotes on its site describe as its CEO, wrote on the company blog that she had received the Grand Winner, Woman Leader of the Year award at the 17th Asia CEO Awards on 13 October 2026. It does not publish funding figures.
Lesson for founders: Coffee for Peace sells a product people already buy every day and builds its mission into the supply chain. Impact is easier to sell when it comes inside something customers want anyway.
Best for: female founders, and anyone in food, agriculture or social enterprise.
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5. Aquila Softwares: enterprise and clinic software
Aquila Softwares builds enterprise software and provides tech teams for hire. Its homepage says it designs around real workflows, builds the systems and supports teams as they adopt them, and shows its Aquila Clinic System among its products. Aquila Softwares Corporation gives its address as the ENM Building in Matina, Davao City. Its site does not give a founding year, team size or funding figures, so we cite none.
Lesson for founders: Aquila builds software for a specific workflow, the clinic, instead of a generic tool. A narrow first product is easier to sell and easier to support.
Best for: healthtech and B2B software founders.
Where Davao Startups Get Support
- IDEAS Davao: the Innovation and Development Accelerators Consortium for Startups, which brings together incubators, accelerators, government agencies, universities and private partners in the Davao Region for training, mentoring, networking and fundraising. It is open to applications from startups and startup enablers.
- Davao Startup Week 2026: organised by IDEAS Davao and Upgrade Innolab and co-hosted by the City Government of Davao and DOST, it was set for 17 to 20 November 2026, with the Mindanao Incubator Summit, a founders conference at Ateneo de Davao University and an investor mixer. The organisers expected more than 2,000 participants and at least 50 startups.
- Upgrade Innolab: a nonprofit incubator in Davao City that began as UP Mindanao's incubator and runs incubation, youth and gender-smart programmes. Its Circulab accelerator opened a call for its second cohort on 28 September 2026, running until 31 December 2026, with non-repayable grants of up to EUR 19,445 (about PHP 1.3 million) for circular economy businesses registered and operating in Mindanao, funded by the EU-Philippines Green Economy Programme.
- University incubators: UP Mindanao's UPGrADE is a technology business incubator funded by DOST-PCIEERD, and IDEAS Davao also lists Ateneo de Davao's ADDventures, the University of Mindanao's UMasenso Hub, the University of the Immaculate Conception's Marian incubator and USeP's AGILab.
- DOST Davao Region: the Department of Science and Technology's regional office, which runs SETUP, its technology upgrading programme for small enterprises, and co-hosts Davao Startup Week.
- Startup PH and QBO Innovation Hub: the national government's startup portal, where Filipino tech startups register for free to reach government programmes, and a Makati-based innovation hub that works with regions across the country.
For more options across the region, see our lists of startup incubators in Asia, edtech accelerators in Asia and startup competitions in Asia.
Davao Startups From the Old List That Changed or Could Not Be Verified
The 2026 version of this article named ten startups. Here is what we found when we checked each one in November 2026:
- Kept: Mugna Technologies, which still operates from its headquarters in Davao City.
- Ampere Technologies: a startup ranking site lists the Davao agritech company AgriDOM Solutions under the name Ampere, but both the agridom.ph and ampere.ph domains redirect to adverts, so we could not confirm the company on an official site. We will add it once its own site works.
- InfinityHub: its domain also redirects to adverts, and we found no other official site.
- KusogPay, EcoKita Corp., Halina AI Studios, FarmHive PH, ShopStreet Dx, CureLink and PlantaSeq: we found no website, company record or press coverage for any of them, so they were removed together with their claims.
- Other names we checked and left out: GeoPik's domain is for sale, the sites of InfinIT LMS, RideIT and SkyEye redirect to adverts, and the construction app AIMHI is based in Tagum City, not Davao City, according to Upgrade Innolab.
- Statistics removed: the old claim that Davao's ecosystem grew 17% in valuation in 2024 had no traceable source, and the old links to startup rankings and job boards were replaced with official pages.
Which Davao Startup Should You Learn From?
- You run a software studio: study Mugna Technologies and Aquila Softwares, which sell development work and build their own products.
- You build fintech or retail tech: study yufin, which starts from a store owner's stock and credit problems.
- You build for an underserved group: study Virtualahan, which gets employers to pay for inclusive hiring.
- You sell a physical product with a mission: study Coffee for Peace and its fair-trade supply chain.
- You build a circular economy business in Mindanao: look at Upgrade Innolab's Circulab grants before 31 December 2026.
- You are just starting: join IDEAS Davao, apply to a university incubator and register on Startup PH.
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How Founders Use Davao's Startup Scene
Start with the free routes: register on Startup PH, join a university incubator through IDEAS Davao, and talk to DOST Davao Region if you build hardware, agritech or deep tech. Look for non-dilutive money first in our list of grants for women entrepreneurs in Asia, and when you are ready to raise, compare the funds in our guide to early-stage VCs in Asia. If you are choosing where to build, read our guide to the best countries for female entrepreneurs in Asia.
Meet investors and peers at events such as the ones in our guides to startup events in Singapore, social impact startup events and agritech startup events. For more small and mid-sized ecosystems, see Pattaya startups and, across the Indian Ocean, Madagascar startups to watch.
Before you copy any of these business models, validate your startup idea with real customers. Then make your startup easy to find: list it in the F/MS marketing directories, publish your startup press release, and write about your product with the F/MS AI SEO Tool or the AI SEO Blog so customers, investors and AI assistants can find you.
FAQ About Davao City Startups to Watch in 2027
Which Davao City startups should I watch in 2027?
Our verified list: Mugna Technologies, yufin, Virtualahan, Coffee for Peace and Aquila Softwares. Each one's own website gives a Davao City address and shows that it still operates, checked in November 2026.
Why are there only five startups on this list?
We only list companies whose own website confirms that they operate and are based in Davao City. Nine of the ten names in the old version of this article could not be confirmed, so we started again and did not pad the list.
Are there female-led startups in Davao?
Yes. Coffee for Peace is led by Joji Felicitas Pantoja, who received the Woman Leader of the Year award at the 17th Asia CEO Awards in October 2026, according to the company's blog. Our list of grants for women entrepreneurs in Asia covers funding for women founders.
Which Davao startups work in fintech?
yufin offers small stores digital payment acceptance, small financial services, supplier ordering and credit tracking in one app. It launched at the end of 2022 with a focus on the South Philippines and has an office in Matina, Davao City.
Which Davao startups work in software?
Mugna Technologies builds web, mobile and AI apps for clients in six countries, and Aquila Softwares builds enterprise software, including a clinic system. Both are based in Davao City.
Where can startups in Davao get support?
IDEAS Davao connects the region's incubators, Upgrade Innolab runs incubation and the Circulab grants, the universities run incubators such as UP Mindanao's UPGrADE, and DOST Davao Region runs technology upgrading programmes.
When is Davao Startup Week 2026?
It was set for 17 to 20 November 2026, organised by IDEAS Davao and Upgrade Innolab with the City Government of Davao and DOST, with an incubator summit, a founders conference and an investor mixer.
Are there grants for startups in Mindanao?
Yes. Upgrade Innolab's Circulab programme offers non-repayable grants of up to EUR 19,445 for circular economy businesses in Mindanao, with applications running until 31 December 2026. Registration on Startup PH also opens access to government programmes.
What happened to the startups on the old list?
Mugna Technologies stays. Ampere Technologies and InfinityHub have domains that redirect to adverts, and KusogPay, EcoKita, Halina AI Studios, FarmHive PH, ShopStreet Dx, CureLink and PlantaSeq could not be found at all.
Where can I get a backlink by writing about my startup?
You can publish a guest post in one of the Fe/male Switch startup blogs, which rank in Google and in AI tools. Get a quality backlink.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
