Local traders urged to invest in startup ideas

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu startup enthusiasts encouraged local businessmen to go beyond the traditional approach of doing business, adopt modern technology to improve productivity and invest in startup ideas.

Junior Chamber International (JCI) Mandaue Executive vice president for external affairs Paul Winston Villacorta said that industry players are now quite open with the startup community as they are starting to understand the value of the modernized entrepreneurship.

He added that the startup community needs more successful businessmen to actively participate in startup activities wherein the latter could inspire aspiring entrepreneurs, demonstrate prototypes, provide mentorship and even volunteer to fund startups they deemed profitable.

Although several have expressed their support, there are also some businessmen who tend to stay in the traditional entrepreneurial approach particularly Chinese business owners who inherit their companies to the next generation of their kin.

Some of the local stakeholders who are named as active in supporting startups are Jay Aldeguer and Wilson Ng of Ng Khai Development.

Organizations that were cited as those that expressed dynamism for startup ideas include Cebu Educational Development Foundation for Information Technology (CEDF-IT), Cebu in IT at the University of the Philippines - Cebu, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and JCI Mandaue.

Tina Amper, founder of Techtalks,ph, said that a pool of technology experts is active in the region and young enthusiasts must initiate to create awareness on technopreneurship.

Although there is a culture clash between different cultures of traditional business and startup community, she noted that industry players have to adjust with the revolutionized way of doing business.

She said traditional businessmen, on the other hand, should be able to adopt to technology such as incorporating social media and websites as part of their strategies to make their business more sustainable by increasing revenue, productivity and customer traffic.

She also raised the idea of creating more incubators and mentorship for start-ups as a call to action of uplifting technopreneurship in Cebu.

Web Ninja Mobile founder Keith Levi Lumanog suggested mobile development as a viable startup taking into account the fast-growing demand for gadgets and rapid adoption of smartphones at present.

He said that mobile applications and solutions are easy to create and competition in such sector is not yet prevalent.

He recommended mobile platforms that could help enhance the productivity and competitiveness of business, thus enticing industry players to embrace the technology.

Villacorta, Amper and Lumanog are lead organizers of the third leg of Startup Weekend Cebu that is set to happen on June 7 to 9 at the University of San Carlos  Main Campus. /JOB (FREEMAN)