Beyond its existing engagements with the Philippines, the Embassy of India is actively pursuing stronger integral business-to-business (B2B) partnerships between Philippine and Indian companies and stakeholders to hone the untapped growth potential of the domestic technology sector.

Indian Ambassador to the Philippines Shambhu Kumaran told reporters on Feb. 23 that there is exponential growth seen in the technology sector, particularly in digital public infrastructure, where local and Indian companies can leverage emerging innovations across the field.

India's current economic ties with the Philippines involve large investments in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, and a focus on its trade basket comprising pharmaceuticals, automobiles, and engineering products.

Despite these exchanges, companies hope to bring the dynamism of India’s digital technology to the Philippines, ranging from hardware and software to skills training, as well as the experiences of India in establishing infrastructure and  enabling policy frameworks to support digitalization.

"I think the Philippines' digital economy is developing well. It's obviously at a nascent stage in terms of some of the larger companies coming through, but I do see a lot of young companies that are aggressive, lots of people setting their start-ups. There's a degree of funding available. But critically, what's important is there should be partnerships,” he said.

“Partnerships with like minded countries will help you and your companies and individuals to leap into a more dynamic mode in the future,” he remarked.

Kumaran emphasized the importance of the Philippine economy and digital economy actors to reach out to players like India, who are beyond the traditional subset of trade and economic partners of the country, to access their unique knowledge and services.

“Our economic engagements I would characterize as being fairly modest but showing some dynamic trends. The idea is to break through to a higher trajectory,” he added.

The Philippines is seen in India as an economy with “extremely bright prospects,” noted the ambassador, with Indian companies keen to explore opportunities. However, there is an “information deficit in terms of what India can offer, and I assume also that Indian companies are not well-versed with the opportunities that exist in the Philippines' market," he explained.

Aside from that, Kumaran also highlighted the advantage of the Philippines’ large and vibrant youth population that can spur greater developments and innovations.

He said he is “optimistic” of the progress in the Philippine economy due to the Filipino youth's economic participation, emphasis on education, and the youth's keenness to address social issues in terms of development, governance, and the environment.

“There's a need for broader opening up of the sector for young companies to build a start-up ecosystem that brings in the universities, and allows young people to access finance, build companies of the future,” he added.

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