The big man at Converge ICT Solutions Inc. has tapped consultants and technical advisers to begin building a Tech City in Pampanga intended as hub for innovation and nurture the next generation of tech giants inspired by the famed Silicon Valley in the United States.
In this personal venture, Dennis Anthony Uy, Converge co-founder, envisions using the 117-hectare property in Pampanga straddling Mexico and Angeles City to attract the industries and spur the growth of innovation-led sectors. The Tech City is seen as catalyst for innovation and tech education and practice in the country.
Uy has tapped expert consultants and technical advisers to kick-off the multi-billion peso project, including the Egis Group which is a global construction engineering company that designs and operates intelligent infrastructure and buildings.
Other consultants in the Tech City project include 10Design, EY Philippines – SGV & Co., B-Global, Rurban Strategic Development Planners Inc., GFP Architects, and Colliers.
“I dream of creating an ecosystem for technology in this venture and will concentrate on innovation and tech-related sectors, software programmers, animators, game developers, even semiconductor designers. We want to attract the downstream tech fields in the Tech City,” Uy said.
The way to do that, Uy said, is to nurture the business side of innovation that explains the pitch to start-ups as well.
Silicon Valley is undoubtedly the inspiration for the rising Tech City for Uy but with distinct Filipino foundations, meaning education and enculturation will be informed by local know-how.
“I want this technology hub to have training institutes that will certify Filipinos as IT engineers and professionals. The education will be from the ground up and produce the workforce with the necessary skills in technology. Tech City will be an incubation hub as well for this industry, encompassing sub sectors like fintech, e-commerce, and digital content creation,” said Uy.
As home of cutting-edge technology, the Tech City will also house the headquarters and data centers of Converge ICT.
“We’re moving into value-added services or products that go beyond connectivity. We have the digital highway in place so in the future there will be apps like OTT services, software and cloud solutions that need to be housed in our data centers,” he said.
