THE Philippines has the great potential to be a major global player in the information and communications technology (ICT).
So says Itamar Gero, president of the Israel Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines.
“What we see is ICT potential, something that the Philippines can follow suit, something we can do and cooperate in governmental level, on the personal, private level, entrepreneurial level,” said Gero in a speech during a forum on ICT on February 9. “We have improvement of [telecommunications] infrastructure and bandwidth, and obviously this is the biggest spending point.”
However, Gero, who is also president of TrueLogic Online Solutions Inc., said he has an ICT company with 150 people in it, “and still the Internet is a huge problem.”
“We know that investing in infrastructure is important, and governments tend to look at it in the old-school way.”
Gero said IT is one of the sectors Israel is looking to invest in.
“IT is one that is very close to my heart,” he said, explaining he has “been a programmer ever since I could touch the keyboard and make sense out of it”.
ICT was also emphasized by Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Ephraim Matityau.
In his speech, Matityau emphasized “ICT has made diplomatic relations between Manila and Jerusalem stronger”. He added ICT development is quite important if the Philippines wants to enhance its capabilities in the digital economy.
Matityau explained Israel built its capability in the digital economy through the formation of the ecosystem of start-ups. “It was the beginning of an industry.”
He added ICT transformed Israel into an economic powerhouse, despite its small size and population. Matityau also mentioned that innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship (ICE) as factors that helped his country along its journey to economic progress.
“Without ICT, Israel will not survive as a state,” he said. “Without this innovation and creativity, we will never be able to cope with elements and in Israel, the elements are very simple, they are political and geoclimatic.”
Matityau said venture capitalists must be prepared to “waste money”. They must give seed capital in the range of $150,000 to $200,000 and to be prepared to suffer losses, he added.
“Because failure in the IT and technology industry is not a failure but a learning curve. It’s impossible to win all the time,” Matityau said. “But those who fail are far more mature to do the next step and to do the next jump into a success story.”
In a World Bank document, titled “Best Practices and Lessons Learned in ICT Sector Innovation: A Case Study of Israel”, the Washington-based institution cited the Israeli government’s goal of putting ICT at the forefront of development.
“It has been the Israeli government’s explicit goal to position Israel at the core of the knowledge economy,” the report said. “The Israeli higher-education system, supported by the government, contributed greatly to the success of Israel in the high-tech arena.”
Meanwhile, Department of Information Communications Technology consultant Ramoncito Ibrahim said the Philippines looks upon Israel as model for innovation. Ibrahim added that innovation is ingrained in every ministry of Israel.
That can be an inspiration for government offices in our country, he said.
Image credits: Rizal Raoul Reyes