Bacolod ICT council eyes alliance with Canadian chamber

John Dave Dueñas (seated, center) with some of the officers of Bacolod-Negros Occidental Federation for Information and Communications Technology after their election last year. (File photo from BNEFIT via PNA)

BACOLOD CITY — The Bacolod-Negros Occidental Federation for Information and Communications Technology (BNEFIT) is eyeing a possible collaboration with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines.

BNEFIT president John Dave Dueñas said a representative of the Canadian chamber will meet their group in the city on Tuesday.

The meeting was facilitated by the National ICT Confederation of the Philippines (NICP) upon the request of the Canadian chamber to meet with the ICT council-members around the country.

Dueñas said the discussions will tackle the outbound trade mission and current ICT awards of the chamber.

The Canadian group, which is composed of the chamber of commerce and their delegation of companies, explores the possibility of collaboration which will serve both the Canadian and Philippine markets.

Dueñas, founder and chief executive officer of Hybrain Development Corp., said that during the meeting, BNEFIT will present “Beyond the Smiles of Bacolod”, an ICT Industry outlook for the next five years.

“The city is more than the sweetest smile and it is at par with the international standard to attract investors,” he added.

According to BNEFIT, the meeting is a strong indication that Bacolod has ripened to become an attractive investment destination, especially those in the ICT industry.

This is a product of the strong collaboration of government agencies, academe and the private institutions, it added.

Dueñas also said it will send a firm message that Bacolod has a trajectory for the sustained growth of its ICT industry, a positive result from a supportive community.