Sampaguita Lab: Where Street Smarts Meet Smart Tech

Sampaguita Lab is an InclusionTech startup based in Manila that’s reimagining how small businesses access and interact with the financial system. Rather than relying on conventional training programs, it integrates financial learning and decision-making support directly into the daily workflows of entrepreneurs through a mobile app. Using AI and live business data, Sampaguita Lab helps MSMEs improve their operations, understand financial health, accept digital payments, and connect with financial institutions—empowering them to grow sustainably and inclusively from the ground up. With that, let’s dive deeper into its mission and innovation with its CEO, Thomas F.V. Nespo

What inspired you to start Sampaguita Lab, and what specific gap were you trying to address in the financial system?

Sampaguita Lab began with a simple personal frustration: I love street food, but I rarely carry cash. I found myself often unable to buy from vendors because they didn’t accept digital payments. That got me thinking—why don’t small businesses go digital or scale? When I asked friends in finance and education, the answer was always “more access” or “better training,” but that explanation didn’t quite sit right with me. I realized there’s a disconnect between what we expect MSMEs to do and what’s actually realistic for them. It’s not just about knowing what to do—it’s about closing the gap between knowledge and action.

That gap, I came to understand, is part of a much bigger challenge: financial inclusion. And financial inclusion is a systemic problem—one that can’t be solved with a quick fix, an app, or a few workshops. That’s why I started Sampaguita Lab: to bridge the gap between financial institutions and financially excluded businesses, like my favorite street food vendors. Our goal is to create real, embedded solutions that meet MSMEs where they are and guide them into the financial system in a way that’s practical, scalable, and human-centered.

How did you come up with the name “Sampaguita,” and what does it represent for your company?

The name “Sampaguita” came naturally when I started this second pivot of the project. At the time, I was working near Quiapo Church and would see Sampaguita vendors every day—it’s such a common and meaningful sight in the Philippines, as it's the national flower. But it’s also deeply personal for me. I’m from Bora Bora, and the Sampaguita, which we call tiare, is also our national flower there. It symbolizes welcome, connection, and even has playful meanings like showing if you're single or not. For me, it felt like the perfect bridge—familiar and heartfelt both here and back home. I didn’t choose the name to sound impressive; I chose it because it stands for what I want my company to represent: simplicity, resilience, and hope.

How does Sampaguita Lab's AI-powered platform help MSMEs grow and access the formal financial system?

The name “Sampaguita” reflects the core philosophy of our company: taking something simple, meaningful, and deeply rooted in the community, and using it to build something powerful. At its heart, Sampaguita Lab is about making knowledge not just accessible—which AI has already done—but actionable. That’s the real challenge we’re tackling. It’s not about overwhelming MSMEs with more financial education; it’s about delivering the right guidance at the right time—when it can actually drive better decisions in their day-to-day operations.

We like to describe Sampaguita as a fintech that teaches or an edtech that transacts. It’s a hybrid approach, combining AI, gamification, proprietary data, and strategic distribution to help small businesses grow. Our innovation doesn’t lie in flashy technology—it lies in how we repurpose existing tools to guide MSMEs in real-time, help them build digital footprints, and eventually connect them to the formal financial system. The name “Sampaguita” is symbolic of that journey—something familiar and local, yet quietly revolutionary.

Your distribution strategy involves an NGO-led approach, which is quite unique for a startup—can you tell us more about why you chose this channel and how it’s working so far?

Our decision to use an NGO-led distribution strategy came from identifying the three major challenges most fintech and edtech startups face when targeting underserved MSMEs: high acquisition costs, low trust, and poor retention. I knew we had to approach this differently to be effective, so we partnered with NGOs who already have deep, long-standing relationships within these communities—relationships that can’t just be replicated by marketing. By embedding Sampaguita directly into NGO training programs, merchants learn about our app from people they already know and trust. It’s a win-win: NGOs get access to free financial education tools, and we get highly targeted, high-retention user acquisition. We piloted this strategy in April and saw incredible results, especially in our July 4 session in Tondo’s Barangay 20, led by Erica and Rinalyn from LP4Y NGO. The turnout and engagement exceeded expectations. This model isn’t magic—it still requires work—but what makes it powerful, and hard to copy, is that we’re not just building tech; we’re showing up, building trust, and empowering communities from the ground up.

How do you envision the future of financial inclusion in Southeast Asia—and what role does Sampaguita Lab hope to play in shaping it?

I envision the future of financial inclusion in Southeast Asia—and globally—as simple, hyper-personalized, and free. MSMEs don’t want complex systems; they need tools they can immediately use. That’s why solutions must be easy to adopt and designed specifically for each business’s unique profile, not a one-size-fits-all model. At Sampaguita Lab, we’re not trying to compete with traditional fintech or edtech players. We aim to be the backbone of a new world where success is built on potential, not privilege—where small business owners are empowered to grow wealth, not excluded for lacking it. By building accessible and personalized financial infrastructure, we hope to unlock the hidden potential of millions of entrepreneurs and power economic growth across emerging nations.

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Thomas F.V. Nespo is the CEO of Sampaguita Lab, a Manila-based InclusionTech startup focused on bridging the gap between financially excluded micro and small businesses and formal financial systems. His mission is to create a more inclusive economy by embedding real-time, actionable education directly into the daily operations of small businesses.

Visit www.techshake.asia if you would like to know and connect more with Sampaguita Lab.