CCCI to form ‘angel group’ to support tech startups

• Source:http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/business/2016/04/01/ccci-form-angel-group-support-tech-startups-465563
• Saturday, April 2, 2016

By Jeandie O. Galolo

TAKING a concrete step in helping local startups thrive, industry players and regulators in the ICT sector will meet this month to start discussing the creation of a Cebu “angels group,” said Melanie Ng, president of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI).

The meeting will be participated in by CCCI, the Cebu Educational Development Foundation for Information Technology (Cedfit), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Go Negosyo, and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

The official name of the organization is yet to be decided but Ng said the CCCI-led initiative will be providing “big brother” mentorship to local tech startups.

“A product or an app is created because of a need and CCCI will be there to link startups to the right people,” Ng said during a press conference for the Cebu Business Month at the Bayfront Hotel yesterday.

For Cedfit managing director Wilfredo “Jun” Sa-a Jr., seed funding would become the direction for the Cebu angels group. “Eventually, that would be one of the objectives, give funding to our startups. But what is also really important is the mentorship,” Sa-a said.

“We are pushing for this soon,” Ng added, acknowledging the growth potential of local startups once given the right attention and resources.

In another development, Cebu can expect more IT-BPM companies to join the rest of the existing players this year.

Although Sa-a chose not to disclose the names of these companies, some of them have already laid out plans for Cebu operations. “They wanted to be here (since) last year,” he said.

The Cedfit official declined to provide causes and details to the delay, saying he is not privy to the matter. He maintained, however, that Cebu continues to be a sweet spot for ICT-BPM investors.

“There’s a lot of interest to come to Cebu during the 10th International ICT Awards in Manila. There were several companies in Cebu awarded and they saw that it’s working in Cebu,” Ng said who was one of the event’s attendees.

If all these plans from investors would push through, Sa-a said this would inject more money to the local economy. Presently, it is estimated that the BPO-ICT sector in Cebu is putting in P4.2 billion to the economy a month generated from the salaries of 120,000 BPO workers.

Metro Cebu has long been identified as a centers of excellence by the Informations and Communications Office of DOST together with Metro Manila, Metro Clark, and Bacolod City.

On its 20th celebration this year, the Cebu Business Month 2016 headed by RC Goldline owner Christian Paro-an is pushing for the use of digital technologies among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to become globally competitive.

Formerly referred to as the ICT-BPM Conference, one of the event highlights every June has been renamed to the Cebu Digital Transformation Summit, which will be held on June 1 and 2 at the Radisson Hotel.

Department of Science and Technolocy Secretary Mario Montejo is being eyed to be the keynote speaker. Topics to be discussed include analytics for SMEs, social media for social transformation, Bitcoin as the future currency, and the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill, which will be discussed by journalist Jessica Soho.