The Philippines Are Where You Can Find Opportunities in the Cell Phone Industry

While at a conference recently, I had the opportunity to speak with a very successful entrepreneur from the Philippines, Jay Bernardo. Below are some bullet points from the conversation:

• 80% of the people live in poverty.
  
• The minimum wage is $6.00/day.
  
• There are more people using SMS in the Philippines than all of Europe. In fact, the poor spend 25% of their budget on cell phones.
  
• Not surprisingly, their cell phone technology is way ahead of us.
  
• There are more cell phones than land lines.
  
• There are 80 million people living in the Philippines.
  
• Cell phones are the #1 industry