STARTUP enablers in Davao Region are pushing to address funding gaps at the seed and angel investment level, warning that startup companies in the region risk failing in critical early stages. During the Habi at Kape media forum on Wednesday, Mary Rose Opianga, Wadhwani Foundation program manager, identified sustainability as the biggest challenge facing Mindanao’s startup community. Opianga said Davao Region currently counts 67 active startups, most of them in services and e-commerce, but the actual number is difficult to track because startups “come and go.” She described emerging start-ups in agritech as complicated; however, there are fewer than in services and e-commerce. Belinda Torres, president of ICT Davao, said the NICT is trying to bridge that gap by connecting founders with angel investors and encouraging government adoption of local startup solutions.