Tech summit explores opportunities, partnerships
THE Embassy of India in the Philippines successfully hosted its inaugural India-Philippines Tech Summit 2024 at Shangri-La The Fort, Manila, on March 5, 2024.
The embassy partnered with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of India, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Philippines’ Department of Information and Communication Technology, and the Philippines Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI).
With the theme “Igniting partnerships for a shared Techade,” this one-day summit took a deep dive into the technological breakthroughs, challenges and solutions across the agriculture, health and finance sectors of both nations.
Opening the event, Shambhu Kumaran, ambassador of India to the Philippines, noted the increasingly improving relationship between India and the Philippines in defense and security, economy and people-to-people ties.
“India and the Philippines have a unique opportunity to show the way how we can build a new narrative of South-South cooperation.” Kumaran also stressed the value of partnerships amid the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), saying: “With the fourth industrial revolution and arrival of AI, there will be further changes. And [for] change to be managed, [it] requires partnerships. The India-Philippines Tech Summit is an effort [that will serve as] the beginning of that partnership.”
Furthermore, the ambassador highlighted India’s utilization of digital technology to enhance the quality of life of millions of its citizens.
As the largest country in the world, he said the Philippines could capitalize on the opportunities presented by India, encouraging the nation to study, adopt, synergize and cooperate for mutual benefit.
For the Philippines’ part, PCCI President Enunina Mangio emphasized that with the evolving landscape of technology, it would be imperative to keep pace with its rapid advancement while also anticipating future tech trends.
“By intensifying our collaboration, we can help address some of the most pressing challenges of our times, leveraging technology for sustainable development, inclusive growth and betterment of our people’s lives,” Mangio said.
“The Philippines and India have a long history of partnership for many years. Today, it is technology and innovation that we find the most dynamic and promising avenues for cooperation, particularly across subsectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, health care, finance and education.”
To deepen the bilateral ties between India and the Philippines, business chambers and companies from both countries formally inked landmark agreements during the summit.
Among the partnerships formed, M2P Fintech and Universal Storefront Services Corp. teamed up to roll out digital payment channels in the Philippines. The partnership was designed to grant customers access to Visa card-based digital payment options for both domestic transactions and remittances.
Connecting entrepreneurial ecosystems
In terms of entrepreneurship, Alewijn Ong, assistant general manager for Business Development-Investment at the National Development Co., explored the variations in startup ecosystems between the Philippines and India.
“The Philippines has registered around 800 startup companies with three unicorns. By contrast, India has more than 98,000 registered startup companies and [is] the second most prolific producer of unicorns in the Asia-Pacific,” said Ong.
Moreover, Ong noted that the global startup ecosystem rank of the Philippines slipped to two places down in the past three years, while India’s startup ecosystem has remained strong, ranking third globally.
Ong pointed out that huge disparities stem from the absence of a regulatory framework supporting the startup ecosystem, ease of regulatory compliance for startup companies and the lack of public awareness on startup incentives in the Philippines.
He remarked: “Having said all of that, it’s not all gloom and doom for the Philippine startup ecosystem. As a matter of fact, the Philippine government — through the National Development Co. — made its first investment in an energy platform startup company that allows consumers to effectively and efficiently procure energy from suppliers at more affordable prices.”
Ong said the government also intended to support and invest in three more startups within the first quarter of 2024.