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A Filipino venture capital firm has launched a national campaign that seeks to build the competence of the local workforce as a way of addressing the Philippines’ technology requirements.

The project, dubbed “National Self-Reliance in Technology Initiative,” is being spearheaded by Global Gateway Venture Capital (G2VC) and was unveiled during the recent general membership meeting of the Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA) in Makati City.

Myra Siason, technology advocacy coordinator of G2VC, said during a presentation that it’s time for the Philippines, one of the world’s top outsourcing destinations, “to awaken the Pinoy spirit” and promote a “sense of self” in the ICT sector.

Siason, a computer engineering graduate of the University of the Philippines and a certified Linux professional, argued that domestic resources should supply the country’s IT needs.

“The Pinoy should think for himself on the utilization of technology. We should start solving our own IT concerns with solutions that arise from ingenuity that is distinctly Pinoy,” she said.

Siason explained that self-reliance in technology—through the use of open source software—will help build the local IT economy and eliminate the need to import foreign technologies. “Building our technology in-house allows us to develop our own expertise. Moreover, we are able to showcase our products when we use them ourselves.”

She said there’s no doubt that the local talent has the technical capability as evidenced by the increasing number of foreign business process outsourcing companies, including software development houses, that operate in key cities of the country.

“We just need to divert some of that talent from going out to coming in,” she said.

The “National Self-Reliance in Technology Initiative,” according to Siason, is still in its draft form and can be accessed at http://technology-self-reliance.wikispaces.com.

Source: GMANews.TV