Davao pitches IT Services offer to Japan

BANKING on what it says is the city’s sizable Japanese-speaking population, Davao City’s information and communications technology (ICT) businesses are enticing Japanese firms to outsource to the region, an industry association based in the southern Philippine city said.

Despite its distance from the capital Manila where many ICT industries are located, Davao City has a flourishing ICT business community, according to the Association of Solutions Integrators in Davao (ASID).

ASID executive director Oliver Robillo said Davao’s ICT firms are hoping to fulfill some of Japan’s outsourcing requirements in software design, animation, call centers, and data transcription.

He said some Davao companies already provide ICT-related work to Japan firms, mostly in transcription and translation.
Robillo said Japan and Davao have long-standing ties.

“Davao already has good relations with Japanese traders. After the end of World War II, many Japanese and their families stayed in Davao, so there’s a good number of people who can speak the language,” he said.

He also said many Davao colleges and universities offer Japanese language courses and about 1,000 out of 12,000 local college graduates can speak Japanese fluently.

Robillo said most of ASID’s 15 members are systems integrators, though several are also engaged in graphic design, animation, and mobile phone applications development.

There are also other ICT companies that offer development of multimedia material, Internet advertising, and customized applications development.

Robillo said Davao’s ICT firms are also in talks with their counterparts in other cities in Mindanao such as Cagayan de Oro, General Santos, and Zamboanga City to strengthen the region’s ICT capabilities.