Does Cebu have what it takes to be the country's next Silicon Valley, er, the world's next "Silicon Island"? I swear, the title alone rocks me.
The tale of Silicon all started in the 1990s in California. One part of the South-of-Market area became a haven to so many multimedia firms, which got its erstwhile nick as the "Multimedia Gulch" which later on became today's "Silicon Valley" where a swath of start ups, high financed and high-tech communities congregate to research and develop new technologies in both software and hardware or semiconductors engineering.
Silicon Valley is comprised by tech cities of Sunnyvale and San Jose. San Jose's Palo Alto area alone is one giant economic community and is where the US' most important high-technology center specializing in aerospace and computer systems. While Sunnyvale is a manufacturing and technology powerhouse specializing in defense, aerospace, computer, electronics, biotechnology, nanotechnology and telecommunications systems equipment.
Cebu is going to build not just a valley but an island, for that matter, which will be stuffed with high tech companies and vertical integrators in the supply chain. Indulge my literal interpretation. But it appears this is the closest ascription anyone could get the first time they hear such buzzwords.
I don't mean to question the vision of our industry leaders in the ICT sector. But I find the moniker too ambitious or too aggressive. You might say, "What's in name anyway?" After all, it doesn't cost you a dime to holler that we're going big time.
Alright, the name perhaps may not be too concerning. But worth looking seriously is our inventory of tools. Cebu is an island bereft of technology experts, venture capitalists (VCs) to support promising technologies and the critical mass of human resource that can ably do the job.
From our experience in fact, it is our Sunnyvale partners that provide the knowledge and expertise and do all the representation to angel investors to continuously support our R&D efforts as well as fixing intellectual property issues. Since we we were organized in 2001, it is this same foreign counterpart that placed their resources to and confidence in us since incubation.
In the Philippines, seed capital for start-ups is still unheard of whether from private or government lending institutions. They say IT projects are just too risky. IT projects have the shortest product life cycle... IT is a tricky thing, blah, blah, blah.
What about the human resource pool,? If critical mass refers to the number of IT graduates per year – then that that's not it. That's the diploma mills on the works.
I'm talking here of professionals with the desired skill set which I tell you is hard to find nowadays. And if you're lucky to get one, you need to fatten them to the bone.
Human resource piracy is all over town while good engineers choose to remain as employees than becoming business partners. Also among the IT circles in Cebu, it is not uncommon to hear many talented programmers moving out of the country.
All told, what happens in Cebu now was the opposite of what happened in Silicon Valley before it became as literal as its name now.
But then again I laud the efforts of those who believe in the dream. But we can't stay in Lala Land forever. No amount of sloganeering can change the reality that is today. It's about time to pinch ourselves on the face and start waking up. There is a lot to be done. A whole lot to be done actually.
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