CCCI recognizes e-sports impact to economic growth

CEBU, Philippines —  The Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) vowed to support the e-sport industry in Cebu, seeing its huge potential to provide economic strength moving forward to recovery.

“The CCCI shall look into ways to proactively cultivate and leverage the e-sports talents in Cebu. Yet, we also have to seek initiatives on how precisely can we materialize our vision for the industry for it to also become a sustainable entrepreneurial investment opportunity,” said the chamber’s president Felix Taguiam.

According to Taguiam, CCCI will also give attention to the flourishing industry of video games or online gaming.

“While it is something that attracts the younger generation, more than the older ones, we cannot deny its impact as a source of economic development. In fact, it is one of the fastest growing industries to date across the globe,” he noted.

Even during the pandemic, he added, the gaming industry has accelerated its operations in digital platforms and continues to thrive.

“It is actually one of the advantages of video gaming from other creative industry as it is something that can be accomplished beyond borders,” he said.

In the past year alone, the Philippines has gathered exponential growth from online gaming, and according to various forecasts, this will continue to rise up to 1.25 billion USD worldwide.

The rise of e-sports as an avenue for partnerships is an indication that the industry will continue to rise.

He mentioned, the leadership of CCCI vice president for mobility Mike Cubos on initiating the development of e-sports in Cebu by launching the Monarch, an e-sport management company, which aims to bring more Cebuanos to win big in the national and international e-sports scene by making players highly competitive, and ultimately produce champions from Cebu.

“Without a doubt, the video game industry is a beneficial force for our economy,” Taguiam said.

CCCI continues to support the video game community in Cebu with its initiatives such as its partnership with GDAP (Game Developers Association of the Philippines), he added.