EXPORTERS want to see more successful local tech startups as they see this benefitting the country’s export sector.
Philippine Exporters Confederation (Philexport) Cebu executive director Fred Escalona said having more startups in the Philippines whose core business is in developing IT and software solutions or e-commerce are capable of scaling their products or services for export.
“We want exporters to innovate,” he said. “The old normal is out. You have to adjust,” Escalona said, emphasizing that innovation in the export sector is a pressing concern amid competition from other exporting countries.
Central Visayas, for instance, contributes some 10 percent to the country’s total exports, but this is primarily driven by electronics, processed food, housewares, and furniture for the merchandise export category, while services exports largely come from the business process cutsourcing (BPO) companies, he said.
The aim, according to Escalona, is to also see tech-based startups exporting their products and services to the global market. The challenge, however, is that most of the bright minds in the IT field prefer to work overseas instead of building products that have the potential to grow in a large scale.
“We want to build a kind of Silicon Valley. We have the resources, we have the know-how, but people are getting out of the country,” he said.
The Export Marketing Bureau (EMB), an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), also looks forward to having more startups that will eventually boost the country’s export sector, said EMB Knowledge Process Division Chief Victorino Soriano. Philippine exports recorded its tenth consecutive month of positive growth at 4.3 percent in September.
He noted that Russia, a country that has forged closer ties with the Philippines is seeing expanding IT exports.
In 2016, the volume of Russia’s IT exports exceeded $7 billion, or growing three times more than eight years ago. Russian technology startups are targeting Asia and Latin America, gradually leaving established markets, such as the US and Europe, according to Russian news media Russia Beyond.
Russian software products excel in the field of information security, mobile applications, navigation, and document management systems, as well as software developed to meet the specific needs of individual companies.
To reach out to Philippine startups, the DTI has organized some programs for them such asSlingShot PH held in Manila and Cebu, as well as during the Asean celebration in the Philippines. SlingShot PH serves as a platform for public dialogue and partnerships with key industry players including venture capitalists, government, academe, and the private sector in building and nurturing the startup ecosystem.
In Cebu, the DTI provincial office will launch a startup mentorship program at 6 p.m. today at the Golden Prince Hotel. DTI Cebu Director Maria Elena Arbon said the mentorship will kick off by February 2018 where 15 startups will be mentored by industry experts from Manila and Cebu.
Startups will undergo nine weeks of mentorship under three phases: customer and company that will run for three weeks; product and market discussions for two weeks; and traction and speech for four weeks.