The last time I saw Filipino tech titan Dado Banatao was when I had dinner with him and his wife, Maria, at their home in Silicon Valley. It had been a while since I last saw him, and his wife gently told us before we were to meet him that he had been ill and had trouble remembering things. Little did I know then that that would be my final dinner with this great man. He succumbed to his illness last Christmas.

I was glad to have visited at that time. Sitting across from Dado that night, I was struck not by the aura of celebrity that often surrounds pioneers, but by the quiet, familiar humanity of a man who reminded me of my own father. Both had retreated somewhat from the public eye, and both carried only the soft blur of their own accomplishments; yet both remain vivid in the recollections of those they touched. Achievements, after all, are not only measured in accolades and profits but in the stories and lives that endure because of them. Dado’s innovations, his mentorship and the generosity with which he shared his time ensured that his influence will persist long after his voice has gone silent.

What Dado accomplished is nothing short of transformational. He was, in the truest sense, a rags-to-riches figure: the son of a poor rice farmer who studied hard and clawed his way to the top of Silicon Valley. Yet to reduce his life to a cliché of upward mobility is to miss the scope of his contributions. He changed the way people used computers by condensing and simplifying the systems that run the machines, in effect bringing about the dawn of personal computing. Today, we can afford computers for every household and use them with ease, thanks to the early work of Dado. The crisp, high-resolution images on our screens, the performance improvements that enable everyday devices to do more with less? These are among the many innovations that trace back to the problems he helped solve. He was the sort of old-fashioned geek whose discipline was rooted in rigorous engineering and whose startups did not merely chase trends or an easy ticket to riches, but ones that reshaped an industry.

That Dado was a poor rice farmer’s son resonates deeply, especially as I continue to understand how so many children from the provinces can grow up to be just like him, if only their families are given a chance to make a decent living out of farming. As we in Go Negosyo and in the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) continue to push our agriculture and food security programs like Kapatid Angat Lahat sa Agri Program and the ASEAN Food Security Alliance, I become more convinced that integrating small farmers into the value chain of big agri corporations can give them a leg up through capital and market access, and achieve the economies of scale they need to make farming profitable. Dado Banatao is what is possible when poor farmers are given the chance to provide for their children.

It is perhaps his humble origins that inspired him to become active in helping young Filipinos. I read that he treats math and science as more than just academic subjects, but tools for survival. To this day, his passion for education and technology influences our own programs at Go Negosyo, such as Youthpreneur and the Online Selling Summit: the former helping public high school students become entrepreneurs and the latter scaling up our MSMEs in their use of digital technology.

I remember back in 2013, he spoke at our Technopreneur Summit, which was a free-access event especially for public high school students, some of whom came all the way from Mindanao to listen. Here, he was asked what the Philippines can contribute to technopreneurship. Dado highlighted three key elements that could help developing countries advance: technology, access to global markets and appropriate investments. He emphasized that the Philippines has significant progress to make in technology, and he noted that collaboration among the government, academia and various industries is essential to achieving this.

Dado himself has his own advocacy: the Philippine Development S&T Foundation Inc. (PhilDev), whose goal is to empower and inspire Filipinos to excel in science and technology through education, innovation and technopreneurship. He is by far the most prominent Filipino technopreneur, and all throughout his successful career, he kept giving back to the country.

Dado’s mentorship extended to me personally. When I assumed the chairmanship of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council in 2017, he took a special interest in our digital initiatives. He offered counsel, and it reflected his conviction that advancement depends on shared effort and shared vision. Dado generously gave me and my senior advisers his inputs with our digital initiatives for ASEAN. Thanks to him, we have a solid foundation on which to build our own national and regional programs on digital technology.

Dado Banatao was a world-class tech visionary whose brilliance was matched only by his generosity. He could have retired into the quiet comforts of a billionaire’s life. Instead, he chose to keep building – startups, foundations and people. He supported countless entrepreneurs, invested in fledgling companies and lent his name and influence to causes that nurtured tomorrow’s innovators. He influenced not just computing technology but also transformed people – students, entrepreneurs, policymakers – who now carry forward lessons learned from him.

His life is proof that business success and civic-mindedness can and should coexist. He leaves behind a reminder that great minds have the power to change business and technology, but that generous hearts have the power to change lives. Through his mentorship and support, he inspired not just Filipino technopreneurs, young Filipinos and MSMEs, but an entire nation to dream bigger.

We are forever grateful.

 Originally Published in Philippine Star