(EID-004) “LOCALIZATION VS. GLOBALIZATION”

Globalization is a game of business, and there is no other way to win it except to play the rules of the game. That means being able to sell products and gain market shares in a highly competitive global arena where only the best products could win and survive.

The days of the so-called “safety nets” are long gone, and the issues of whether these were put in place or not are already irrelevant. By now, the expected fall of the market players that were supposed to be cushioned by these “safety nets” may already be crippled or dead, and there is no more sense in crying over spilled milk.

From this point onwards, we have no other choice but to compete aggressively in the world market, and that includes taking on global market players in our own homeland, meaning the products that are imported and are not made here. Needless to say, our own producers would also have to compete with foreign brands that are already manufactured here.

From this point onwards, we should ask ourselves whether we are going to continue just being a dominantly consumer nation or become a dominantly producer nation, which means that we have to manufacture more competitive products that would not only meet the local demand, but would also win market shares in global arenas.

Just as small shopkeepers are able to strengthen and sustain the economy of the United Kingdom even up to now, I believe that the hope for our long term economic survival and sustainability lies in the small entrepreneurs of our country regardless of whether they are in the cities or in the countryside. In order for them to become more globally competitive however, it is necessary to upgrade them to corporate entities so that they could be infused with more capital more easily.

Aside from building roads and bridges that were supposed to be completed a long time ago, our local governments should now build the support infrastructure that would enable small corporations to grow and prosper, starting with business incubation centers that should be fully equipped with all the latest technological tools.

Whether we like it or not, globalization is already here, but in order to win this game, we should give importance to the localization of business incubators for small corporations to use, being as they struggle to build their companies in the short run, while they gear up for the long run.