A fulcrum for convergence

NO HOLDS BARRED
Ike Señeres

Without any real planning behind it, my TV show has become a fulcrum for the convergence of organizations and individuals who are working for national development in general and business development in particular. One way or the other, the show has become an enabling mechanism for organizations and individuals to get involved, and to get things done.

One of the main features of the show is a running ticker of stock prices, the modern equivalent of the old ticker tape. Pushing information is really a proven and tested way of promoting any product or service, and what I would like to do now is to find more ways of pushing information about stock exchange data, perhaps through mobile or outdoor means.\

Basically, “Bears & Bulls” is still a stock market show in particular, but it is now evolving to be a business show in general. Since anything that is good for the country is also good for business and vice versa, it would be a good idea to use the show to build business, and to build the country along the way.

If we look at the developed countries around the world, we could see that their national economies grew because their local economies started to grow in the first place. This is the direction that we should take, to build our local economies so that we could build our national economy in the process.

I have not yet received any inquiries regarding my offer to help local governments in putting up their hazard mapping systems and hazard warning systems. It is a sad reality that very few local governments have these systems, even if these do not cost much. Anyone reading this column should relay this information to their local officials.

Perhaps its just plain coincidence, but I interviewed young scientist Roland Jay (RJ) Miguel a few days after I discussed hazard warning systems in my show. He turned out to be part of a team from the GSMetrix Corporation that has designed a solar powered multi-purpose sensor in cooperation with the National Institute of Geological Sciences. Now we are one step closer to affordable warning systems for local governments.

Since he is from UP Diliman, I gave RJ an assignment to go to the UP Marine Sciences Institute (MSI) to find out whether a database built by a Transfer of Knowledge thru Expatriate Nationals (TOKTEN) scientist that I assigned there many years ago is still in use. The database measures the amount of Escherichia coli (e.coli) in the water in terms of parts per million (ppm).

It may also be plain coincidence that the Philippines has practically become the text messaging capital of the world. Growing up in this environment, it has become easy for young scientists like RJ to think of inventions that are based on mobile technologies. Simply by making a missed call to the sensor, it will send back data about heat, moisture, motion or anything else that is programmed into it.

Based on the usual behavior of the more developed economies, scientists or inventors like RJ are initially funded by angels or venture capitalists before they are able to mature into initial public offerings (IPOs). Quite sadly, the number of IPOs coming out here are very low, a reflection perhaps of our low turnout in the global patents race.

I am aware that a venture capital group is operating out of the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), led by Mr. Ed Isidro. Kudos to his group for doing this, but I think the venture capital market in the Philippines has to grow much faster if we are to catch up with the rest of the world in product development.

I also interviewed Ms. Aleli Pansacola and Ms. Marlyn Kragh in my show, and I am amazed at the talent of these two Filipinas in developing world class health and beauty products. Quite sadly again, they do not seem to be getting the right exposures to the capital markets that they need badly.

Ms. Pansacola laments about the fact that the Philippines is now importing essences and fragrances when in fact better substitutes could be produced here. One thing good about these two ladies is that they are both helping local farmers who are producing their ingredients.

Watch my TV show “Bears & Bulls”, a daily coverage of the Philippine Stock Exchange. 9:00 am to 1:00 pm in Global News Network. Email iseneres@yahoo.com or text +639293605140 for local cable listings.