Cedf-it Hosts Genpact’s Visit to Cebu
by Paul Catiang

When the Cebu Educational Development Foundation for Information Technology (Cedf-it) officers visited Hyderabad and Bangalore in the past, they met with several IT and BPO executives and professionals there, and assurances were made that should they visit the Philippines in turn, the same hospitality will be shown them.

True enough, when business services and technology solutions expert Genpact came to the Philippines to explore opportunities with John Clements, they expressed an interest in seeing what Cebu has to offer. Carol Dominguez, John Clements president and CEO, therefore arranged a visit through the auspices of Cedf-it. Bonifacio Belen, Cedf-it’s Executive Director, says he gathered all the people who had gone on the trip to India to host the executives of Genpact, including Mr. Pyush Mehta and Mr. Ashok Tiyagi.

They visited the Asiatown IT Park, Ayala Land’s newest project at the Cebu Business Park, to showcase the real estate potential Cebu City has for the BPO industry. This was followed by a visit to PeopleSupport and NEC Telcom Software Philippines Inc., for a taste of how the BPO industry functions in the city.

These visits were followed by a meeting with several luminaries from the local universities, including Fr. Roderic Salazar Jr. of the University of San Carlos, Rev. Fr. Constantino Real of the University of San Jose Recoletos, as well as other representatives from the Cebu Institute of Information Technology and the University of Cebu. As these universities and institutions are also members of Cedf-it, educational programs can be expected to match the needs of the BPO industry.

Then, the Genpact executives were treated to presentations from Cedf-it and Globe Telecoms as to the existing infrastructure in Cebu to show them that the city is more than ready to take on any major BPO that plans to set up shop there.

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia also met with the executives and, as a study in policy making, asked if there was anything her office could do by way of local support. As most foreign investors here get incentives on a national level, the governor’s office saw the need to explore the possibility of according local incentives to them.

The visit ended with a meeting with representatives from CB Richard Ellis and the Gaisano Group to help round out the BPO’s options in Cebu, should they decide to start operations there.

All of Genpact’s potential concerns were addressed over the few days that they were in Cebu: real estate, telecommunications infrastructure, educational complements and government support for their industry, proving that Cebu is one of the most viable locations for the BPO industry in the Philippines.