A crack of lightning in the skies over Manila Bay would not resound more loudly than the recent announcement in the Philippines of a US$120 million equity fund by Stockholm-based Brummer and Partners. Known as the Navegar Fund, it will be targeted at diverse industries - including technology-driven Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) - for firms requiring infusions of between $10 million and $20 million. This is about 430 million to 860 million pesos in local currency, in a country with a per capita income that is about one-tenth that of Sweden in terms of cost of living and buying power.

My personal opinion is the Swedes will realize what an extraordinary amount of funding this is for the Philippines, and scale back their minimum investments to meet the requirements of some of their potential recipients. My personal hope is that the Philippines' notorious constitutional requirement of having 60% local ownership in most cases will not impede this investment or the economic progress it could drive.

I am hearing from colleagues that potential investment from Scandinavia and other Nordic countries may not end with this fund - investors from Finland and Denmark are said to be looking around as well.

Straight Path
This new, potential North-South axis is apparently being driven by a stronger economy and perception of a better business climate under the administration of President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, who took office in mid-2010. Aquino promised a "daang matuwid," or "straight path" for his administration, and alluded to it during his most recent State of the Nation address (SONA) this week.

Administration critics have alleged certain deficiencies in his progress. But Aquino's criticism of the country's Bureau of Customs during the SONA has already led to one top resignation, and it would not surprise me if others were to follow from within the Philippine government.

Our Numbers
Our research at the Tau Institute, which is co-located in Metro Manila, shows the Nordic countries to be among the world's leaders in the area of technology infrastructure and environment. Five of our Global Top 10 are either Scandinavian or Baltic: in order, Estonia, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, and Lithuania. Another Northern European country, The Netherlands, is also in the Top 10.

The Philippines ranks 53^rd overall among the 102 nations we survey. However, it ranks above China, India, Thailand, and Indonesia within Asia; ranks 7^th among 20 nations in its income tier (incomes of less than $6,000 per year); and ranks 3^rd among all Asian nations in its raw potential, according to our research.

Most of the major technology players have located themselves in the Philippines. The country's BPO industry now generates $12 billion in annual revenue - about 5% of the country's GDP - and employs several hundreds of thousands of people. An ambitious roadmap aims to more than double this revenue within a few years, and steadily increase its percentage of the overall economy.

Complementing all this are local technology success stories such as Morphlabs, Orange & Bronze Software, and a host of startups within a lively entrepreneurial scene that extends from Metro Manila to "second city" Cebu City and other areas of the country. I'll report further as I learn more details about what appears to the beginnings of a Nordic Infusion here.