Inspiring and enabling technopreneurs

Inspiring, empowering, and full of learning best describes the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship – Go Negosyo’s recently concluded 3rd Filipino Technopreneurship Summit 2014 held yesterday at the jampacked SMX Convention Center, Pasay city.

We were full to the rafters with over 7,000 attendees from close to 90 different colleges and universities and other institutions and about a thousand start-ups. We welcomed participants from as far as Mindanao State University Ilagan in the south and Don Mariano Marcos University. The summit, which is free for students and teachers, has once again forwarded an advocacy benefiting the young, aspiring and practicing Filipino entrepreneurs.

The summit was lives-treamed by Rappler.com,  very much fitting to the techno event.  The overflow crowd included technopreneurs and would be technopreneurs, close to 600 of them.

I believe in inspiring our new generation for it is the young kids out there that are born to be tech-savvy. They must be inspired to see the icons of the tech world. It all starts by being inspired by your idol and getting a mentor in life who can guide you.

What else can one ask for after hearing the tech gurus of the Philippines – Manny “MVP” Pangilinan and Engr. Dado Banatao, and this time in a dialogue format? We need more technopreneurs in this country, hopefully with the help of Dado Banatao – thru his efforts in the Philippine Development Foundation – in mentoring the next technopreneurs to become a reality.

Maria Ressa, CEO of Rappler, enlightened us about technopreneurship in the Philippines. She gave a brief understanding of social media and big data and why and how it is important to know these things to further grasp the idea of technopreneurship.

Ressa presented how Rappler became a tool for Filipinos to keep up with the happenings in the country and how they are able to feed information and respond to inquiries at a click of a button. She stressed three important points: have an inspiration to get motivated, use your imagination with the help of technology, and have the courage to do and act to affect positive changes.

It was followed by a very exciting and informative dialogue with the country’s technology giants, Engr. Dado Banatao of Tallwood VentureCapital and PLDT Group’s Manny V. Pangilinan. What made the dialogue more interactive were the questions that came from the students.

When asked what the Philippines has to offer when it comes to technopreneurship, Dado cited three points as a formula for developing countries to move up – technology, access to global markets, and proper investments. He also stressed that the country has a lot of catching up to do with technology, and part of the solution is the government, academe and the other industries present.

MVP cited how the country needs further improvement in the educational system and said that we need to use the advantage of having the great number of young people and to explore creativity and innovation more.

Dado also said that research is very important to find new ways to develop and improve and there is a great need to bolster education and teaching to help the youth to be better and ready in a global perspective.

When asked how the scene of Philippine startup looks like, both Dado and Manny agreed that there is a significant increase in the number of budding entrepreneurs and advised the youth and aspiring negosyantes to tap and utilize the pipes that are willing to help pursue their business and dreams.

Dado said that one has to have the knowledge of concepts and theories to innovate and the target idea to come up with a product if we want to build a culture of innovation in our country. Manny added that a nurturing and providing environment is also helpful in educating the youth with proper support, funding, and mentoring.

The tech giants imparted words of wisdom that truly inspired and opened the eyes of the youth to take the step to become an entrepreneur. “Do not give up. Solutions take time to know. You have to like what you do. You have to like what you do and if you can do it, do it” said Engr. Banatao challenging the youth to be more determined and courageous in taking the risks and succeeding in life.

Words of inspiration poured when MVP said that “it starts with an idea. It starts with a dream. It doesn’t start with anyone but you. Success is dream translated into reality.” The crowed was wowed by the wisdom and the lessons that these two successful Filipino technopreneurs imparted.

Science Committee on Technology chairman Ralph Recto delivered an inspiring keynote message addressed to the youth. He mentioned that there is a need to create a core of entrepreneurs who will supply the needs of the future Filipinos after giving an overview of what the country would be in 2020 by projecting the size of the market.

He stressed the importance of preparing for the future and planning ahead and envisions the youth to be more optimistic in excelling in life. He also said that the challenge for the government is to build human capital and improve science education by ensuring that teachers are properly educated to impart the right knowledge.

Senator Recto challenged the youth by saying “if you can’t land a job, create your own. If you can’t create your own, be an entrepreneur. Be an entrepreneur and create jobs in the process.” He also shared three important points: value, virtue, and vision which surely inspired the hearts and minds of the youth.