New vocabulary words today have entered the dictionary because of their frequent usage, no matter how nonsensical they may be. Words like “lol”, “btw”, “yahoo”, and “google” are perfect examples; their utility more than makes up for their lack of wit. But “technopreneurship” is in a different league; the industry it is building today showcases its utility, and who knows? Maybe “technopreneurship” and “technopreneurs” will formally enter the Philippine lexicon once the country becomes the dream of being a silicon valley.

“He must be aware of the latest technologies, and never be afraid to learn them and try them out by himself. He must also not eat beyond what he can take. Grow slowly, but surely.”

The first time I heard the term “technopreneurship” was in September 2006, when I went to the World Trade Center in Pasay City to attend “TechnoNegosyo”, a Technology Entrepreneurship Event sponsored by the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship. The event opened a whole new world to me; I realized how promising a venture technopreneurship is in the Philippines. I began to do research on it, and I learned that many enterprises have already been established to exploit technology, particularly ICT, to create wealth.

What is technopreneurship? “Technopreneurship,” says Dennis Posadas, author of Rice Bowl and Chips, “is IT plus any application that commercializes science and technology.” In other words, technopreneurship is essentially making money out of technology.

Last November 22, 2007, I went to Incuventure Partners Corporation, a software solutions company in Roces Avenue, Quezon City, for a brief interview with its president, Mr. Emmanuel Caintic. I asked him three things: the technopreneurial path of his company, the profile of a technopreneur, and the future of technopreneurship in the Philippines.

Mr. Caintic graduated in 1997 from the Ateneo de Manila University with a degree in Physics and Computer Engineering. Right after graduation, he put up a Review Center in Xavierville Subdivision in Quezon City. Soon after, he joined Canon as a hardware engineer, and then worked for Unilever for a few years. In 2002, he founded the Incuventure Partners Corporation.

LSEC:During the first years of ICP, as a start-up company, what challenges did you have?
Mr. Caintic: First, it’s clients. My clients at that time are only those referred by my friends and contacts. I’m not in the IT Industry for ten years, and so I don’t have a credible track record yet to be able to draw many clients. And second, I didn’t have the right people, people who are not only competent in programming, but who also know the “business side” of things. I wanted that those who work for me are also adept in understanding the business of the client, and know the basics of book-keeping, financial accounting, etc. This is important because they wouldn’t want to do programming all their life. They also have to grow as a person.

LSEC: How do you profile a technopreneur? What qualities must he possess?
Mr. Caintic: He must be aware of the latest technologies, and never be afraid to learn them and try them out by himself. He must also not eat beyond what he can take. Grow slowly, but surely.

LSEC: Let’s go to the ICT field itself. How globally competitive are we Filipinos in this field?
Mr. Caintic: We’re competent in ICT, because if we are not, then the Singaporeans won’t do business with us. Filipinos are very creative. Our problem, however, is that there are many graduates who are very poor in terms of theories. We have computer schools that only teach the syntactical aspects of programming such as mere coding. We must also be strong in the theoretical aspects such automata, Neural networks, and others, and must have a strong background in mathematics and logic.

I am hoping to feature more technopreneurs as we have so many of them here in our country. I will give just a few recognizable names: Mr. Ramon Castillo, president of Innovatronix, Inc; Dr. Paco Sandejas of Narra Venture Capital; Dr. William Torres of Mozcom; Dennis Mendiola of Chikka; Peter Valdes of Vinta Systems; Myla Villanueva of MDI Group of Companies; Diosdado Banatao of Mostron and S3; and many more!