In person, not just on Zoom.

Why the Philippines is worth a separate conversation

The Philippines is competitive on talent, English-speaking, with a fast-growing digital-services sector and a regulatory environment that has matured significantly in recent years. The EU–Philippines Free Trade Agreement is on track to conclude in 2026 — European companies that complete their entry groundwork beforehand will be in position before preferential access locks in.

It is also genuinely difficult to enter without ground-level orientation. The gap between written rules and how they are applied in practice is wide. Entity structures that look straightforward on paper interact with foreign ownership restrictions in ways that take months to untangle if you hit them late.

• You have done the desk research, but have no one who can make the introductions that turn months of cold outreach into weeks of warm conversations.
• You moved quickly, hired locally, and are now discovering that the entity structure does not support what you actually need — the right ownership ratio, the ability to bid on government contracts, or access to the incentive schemes you assumed would apply.

What I help with

I work with European companies at the point where strategic intent needs to become operational reality — typically before or just after the commitment to enter. The right contacts are already in place — legal and tax advisors, EOR providers, banking connections, ECCP and AmCham Philippines network — so you are not building that list from scratch.

• Regulatory mapping. Which approvals, registrations, and compliance requirements apply to your specific situation, in what sequence, and what they mean for your timeline.
• Entity and ownership structure. Foreign ownership restrictions vary by sector and by what you are actually trying to do. Getting the structure wrong early does not always mean you can fix it — sometimes it means starting again. I am not a corporate lawyer, but I know which ones to call, and I know what questions you need to answer before that call is worth having.
• Buyer and channel mapping. Who actually makes the purchasing decision, through which channel, and what the sales or procurement cycle looks like in practice — including the specific rules and timelines that catch European companies off guard.
• Operational setup. Banking, employment via local EOR providers, payment system connections, IT stack, and government integrations. The work between entity registration and being genuinely ready to operate — in the right sequence, so nothing blocks your launch.

Two traps European companies fall into early

• Choosing the entity structure before understanding how you will actually sell or operate. Foreign ownership restrictions in the Philippines vary by sector and by what you are actually trying to do. Getting the structure wrong early does not always mean you can fix it — sometimes it means starting again.
• Underestimating the gap between registered and operational. The Philippine registration process is not the finish line — it is the starting gun for a separate sequence: banking, employment, payments, system integrations. Each has its own timeline. Most European companies discover this after they have already committed to an operational start date.

How it typically works

The right starting point is a short orientation — two to four weeks — covering regulatory mapping, entity structure options, and introductions to the advisors and contacts relevant to your specific situation. From there, the scope depends on what you need: some companies want ongoing advisory as they navigate the entry process; others need a specific phase owned end-to-end.

I am based in Prague and have spent time on the ground in Manila — which means the network is real, not assembled from a desk.

For companies that also need to set up local IT systems — integrating with Philippine government platforms, connecting to local payment infrastructure, or choosing the right stack for a local office — that sits within the same scope rather than requiring a separate engagement.