APTOS FOUNDATION, led by independent blockchain platform Aptos, has launched a community hub in the Philippines aiming to support local talent and projects through its global ecosystem.

“What you might see in the next three to six months is a continuation of the bootcamps and hackathons that we’ve been doing, but with more focus on the projects,” The Blockchain Lead Organization and Knowledge Center (The BLOKC)  Co-Founder and Managing Director Eli Becislao told BusinessWorld at the sidelines of the launch of the Hiraya Network on Thursday.

“Most bootcamps or hackathons stop at the teaching part, but for us, we don’t want to stop there because our end goal is for these projects to secure small grants. That will help motivate our founders to continue building,”

He added they expect projects in the Philippines to utilize Aptos and its ecosystem in the next three to six months.

The Hiraya Network is supported by the Department of Science and Technology – Advanced Science and Technology Institute (DoST-ASTI) and the BLOKC.

Its programs will focus on events and workshops, university partnerships, hackathons and open-source research and development projects on Aptos; and collaborations with startups, academic institutions, and venture capital firms.

The programs aim to boost education, awareness, and fundraising for Filipino projects building on Aptos.

The network will give Filipino blockchain enthusiasts, builders, and founders access to the Aptos Foundation’s global programs and resources, including grants and accelerators, as well as the Aptos LFM which supports Aptos-native projects in their Token Generation Event preparations.

“Ultimately what we’re trying to achieve really is to help builders, startup founders, so that they can have access through the Hiraya Network with mentoring, access to funds, and distribution,” Hiraya Network Mark Hugh Neri said in a speech.

DoST-ASTI Senior Science Research Specialist Roxanne S. Aviñante said that they have partnered with the BLOKC before for blockchain campus conferences.

“We co-market these events and we highly support these initiatives to connect with students, universities, industries, government centers across the country to raise awareness and inspire the next generation of blockchain innovators,” she said.

“We want to see this community grow, not just in size but in impact. And we want to see more developers pushing the limits of what blockchain technology can do,” she added. — Aaron Michael C. Sy