Worldwide, the deployment of new or upgraded technology requires qualified
and creative personnel. Filipinos are seen to be in the forefront of having
these potential skills to develop and innovate due to mainly two factors:
English language is widely spoken and the Filipinos are considered as "early
adopters". Thus the Philippines is used as a test market for new mobile
communication technology by worldwide players such as Nokia, Ericsson, and
others.

In many ways the country is a forerunner in mobile applications (SMS based)
but is at the risk of being left behind if Java-based mobile application technology is not quickly introduced on broader scale. There is very little to none experience/expertise in Java available throughout the Philippines (and much of the world). The trainings required are very expensive and thus not available for the average person. As these skills are in high demand worldwide, this contributes to the brain drain from the Philippines.

It is in this regard that Nokia as a technology leader and GTZ with its expertise in international development assistance entered into a public - private - partnership providing training and support for Filipino individuals as well as small and medium companies in the development and marketing of mobile applications based on highly demanded technology around Java, which are evolving as internationally accepted standard for mobile internet devices. Thus, this expertise can be used for any vendor's equipment, be it from Siemens, Ericsson, Nokia or Motorola . 

The best and most creative persons will be guided further in training courses in
idea/concept development of mobile internet applications, prototype development, testing, as well as the legal information and marketing knowledge required. The development of mobile applications will be done on a
competition basis, with the best individuals or groups receiving incentives in the form of participation in major European / Asian trade fairs or operators and support in their quest to market their applications successfully. In general developers will be actively supported in marketing their products locally, regionally or globally to any interested company thru various means.

The measure is conducted in close cooperation with the European IT
Service Center.

NOKIA-GTZ Private Public Partnership