enspace Cebu announces Grand Opening!

Due to the global pandemic, the most-awaited grand opening finally happened after a one-year pre-opening period.

Community Manager, Ryota Yamada, was interviewed about his thoughts for enspace Cebu.

"enspace Cebu" is a place where diverse "rims" intersect

 Based on the concept of "Glocal Factory", it is a shared office and co-working space that opens in Cebu, Philippines. After the pre-opening last year, it will be a grand opening in April 2022. Aiming for a Glocal world where diverse "en" intersect, we will support business growth and provide an environment where everyone can challenge.

Until now, enspace has created a place where diverse "en" intersect in Sendai. From now on, Japanese companies will grow their business and challenge abroad. Overseas companies will also grow their business and collaborate with Japanese companies. In order to realize such a Glocal world, we decided to expand in Cebu, Philippines.

- What is the strength of enspace Cebu?

The best thing is that there are services and staff that Japanese people can feel safe. In terms of business, we can provide a wide range of back-office support from surveys necessary for overseas expansion to operation after incorporation. I think you can rest assured that we have partnered with a local Japanese company familiar with the Philippines.

In addition, I would like to provide personal support for those who are worried about living abroad. We will provide a place where customers can feel safe, not only as a workplace but also as a community.

I volunteered to set up a base for my dream of working abroad.

-Please tell me how you tried to launch a Cebu base.

I heard that our company Ago and Kano were talking about expanding into Cebu two years ago, and it started when I ran for the launch member. At that time, I was still an intern at enspace, but I was lucky to meet someone who didn't get caught up in the position of a student and gave me a chance to challenge. I've always had a dream of working abroad, so being involved in overseas expansion has become a very good experience.

You can also suffer from the standards of the Philippines.

- Have you ever had a hard time setting up a Cebu base?

I have realized many times that the difference between the standards between Japan and the Philippines. I still feel that the quality of service is better in Japan. For example, a desk for the conference room was sent in a moldy state (laughs). Under such circumstances, it is particularly difficult to manage staff remotely from Japan and improve the environment.
On the other hand, I am often inspired by the bright and diligent personality of Filipinos. While providing Japanese-class services, enspace Cebu hopes to be a place that incorporates Philippine's cheerfulness.

Aiming to be a place to connect Japan and the Philippines

-Please tell me about your future prospects.

First of all, our goal is to make it a quality that customers can use with satisfaction. I would like to focus on the service aspect in particular. In addition to supporting business growth, we will also work to support the lives of customers who are worried about living abroad.

In the end, we will aim for a positive relationship for Japanese companies that have entered the Philippines, Philippine companies, and enspace Cebu. The Japanese market is expected to shrink in the future, and from the perspective of workers and markets, Japanese companies also need to look overseas. On the other hand, the Philippines has a growing population and there are many English-speaking people, so it has the potential to grow as a hub in Southeast Asia. I hope that enspace Cebu can be a place that connects Japan and the Philippines.