CEBU IS IT?

Cebu’s bid to become an information technology (IT) hub in Asia is in its initial stages despite a number of obstacles.

The idea of making Cebu an IT center started middle of last year during an IT Summit dubbed "Cebu is It!" The start of the new millennium saw the country, particularly Cebu, lose most of its investors in the manufacturing industry to China because of its cheap labor. This prompted Cebu officials to think of new ways to attract foreign investors.

"If we have to grow economically, we have to look for other ways to compete. We need to develop new competencies to attract foreign investors and dollars," says Joel Mari Yu of the Cebu Investment and Promotions Center (CIPC).

So two ways were thought of to make Cebu competitive again – tourism and IT. Yu says the IT industry, being dominated by the English language, would be a good opportunity for Cebu to attract investors. "With a lot of IT-skilled people who can speak English, we can compete," he says.

Cebu’s edge

While there are a lot of places in the country that claim they are ready for an IT industry, Yu says Cebu has an edge because of two things – a wealth of IT professionals and the existence of infrastructure needed to become an IT center.

He says Cebu is the only place outside Metro Manila that has a resource of IT professionals, a registered IT park and Direct Subscriber Link or DSL facilities.

However, despite the fact that Cebu has the resources needed for an IT hub, Yu says there is a lot of work to do.

"We need a lot of help to put a structure in place," he says, adding that the CIPC does not have data on how many IT professionals there are in Cebu and what their skills are.

"We know that they are there but we cannot tell what their specializations are and how many they are," he says.

But Yu adds that this problem will soon be solved after the CIPC acquired a project grant from the Japan Overseas Development Corp.

Under the grant, the Nomura Research International, the biggest think tank in Asia, was tasked by the Japanese government to do the necessary research for Cebu’s dream of becoming an IT hub.

Included in the research are the assessment of Cebu’s existing IT capabilities, IT alternatives that have the greatest potential for Cebu and developing joint ventures between Japanese and Cebu IT companies.

More funding

The CIPC, Yu says, is also set to meet with representatives of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to forge a tie-up similar to that with the Japanese government.

He says the CIPC is working hard on getting funding from other countries because this is also a way of promoting Cebu.

"Cebu has to be smarter than the rest of the Philippines because we have limited resources. Being smart is our asset," he says, adding that funding agencies will "help people who know how to ask."

Although looking for funding agencies is one of the problems in realizing Cebu’s dream, Yu says the biggest obstacle are the IT professionals themselves.

"They are not cooperating. There are two existing groups of IT professionals in Cebu and the CIPC is trying to unite them," he says.

Yu, however, is optimistic that Cebu will overcome this obstacle and that the vision of becoming an IT hub will soon be a reality.

"We are just starting but we know where we are going. And that is what’s important," he says.