Who will be the next Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines?
The search for the Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines 2009 concludes tomorrow night in a much-awaited awards gala at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel. Socorro C. Ramos, National Bookstore Founder and General Manager and Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines 2004, will be the guest of honor and keynote speaker for the evening.
The search produced 19 outstanding finalists from diverse industries situated in various regions in the country. Dare to dream was chosen as the Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines 2009 theme in recognition of Filipino entrepreneurs who are visionaries in their own right. All 19 finalists are role models with courage to embark on new ventures. Their stories inspire others to also consider entrepreneurship as a way to uplift the lives of others.
Mylene Abiva turned Felta Multi-media Inc. from a family business into a professionally managed company engaged in the international trade and manufacture of educational courseware, laboratory equipment and robotics for children. Under her leadership, the business has built a reputation of being a value innovator in the educational industry, making available to the market technologically advanced educational tools and instructional materials.
Dustin Andaya leveraged on technology to realize his vision of making Philippine Cut Flower Corporation the largest flower delivery company in the Philippines. His marketing brainchild, the eCommerce website www.islandrose.net, allows buyers to purchase roses on the Internet and have these delivered anywhere in the country through Island Rose’s partner-couriers.
Mary Grace Arboleda-Young seeks to promote both the culture and coffee of the Cordillera region where she grew up. She does this through Cordillera Coffee Company, a company offering products of the region such as cordillera Arabica, and Benguet and Sagada coffee. Ms. Arboleda-Young has also established Coffee AID (Assistance for Indigenous Development) to provide community livelihood development projects for coffee farmers.
Eduarda Ayo broke away from the stereotype by being a woman farmer. Her optimism and perseverance helped her master the technology behind seed production and enabled her to successfully turn E.V. Ayo Enterprises into the largest palay seed grower in the Bicol Region, with most of its 150 hectares devoted solely to seed production. E.V. Ayo Enterprises also includes allied businesses such as copra trading, fertilizers and pesticides, palay seed growing and hog breeding.
Gemma Nadal Bulos brought her advocacy to raise awareness on water issues to the Philippines by establishing A Single Drop for Safe Water (ASDSW). ASDSW has helped start over 40 water projects all over the country. The communities are taught to create a household water treatment which removes 95–100% of disease causing organisms, or build their own community water system which will provide the community a continuous supply of water in their lifetime.
Kenneth Cobonpue brought pride and prestige in Philippine furniture exports through his company, Interior Crafts of the Islands, Inc., that designs and manufactures furniture from indigenous materials using innovative handmade production techniques. His lifestyle products have gained popularity in the global market, making Kenneth Cobonpue an internationally recognized Filipino luxury furniture brand.
Henry Cureg had a natural interest in printing and a desire to elevate the standard of printing quality in the industry. He established United Graphic Expression Corporation (UGEC) and pioneered the one-stop print shop concept, offering services from conceptualization to the printing of materials. UGEC caters to the promotional requirements of major food, tobacco, cosmetics and beverage brands, and pharmaceutical and telecommunications companies. The company also supports the demand for various advertising collaterals.
Michael Escaler returned to the Philippines to start a trading company that would represent the interests of the Philippines in the international arena. Today, All Asian Countertade is the largest sugar trading company in the Philippines. Its unique setup with clients gives All Asian Countertrade an advantage over its competitors — the trading house shoulders the risks brought on by the market’s volatility as part of giving back to the community.
Bonifacio Fernandez struck gold in charcoal — pursuing a business idea to supply charcoal to Osaka, Japan, Mr. Fernandez founded BF Industries, Inc., a Davao-based manufacturing company that exports coconut shell charcoal products. Diversifying to anticipate market trends, Mr. Fernandez also successfully ventured into exporting fine charcoal briquettes and activated carbon (the final product of granulating charcoal).
Antonio Gloria invested his personal possessions to ensure that Unitel Productions, Inc. would get past the turbulent economic times of the early 1980s. His gamble proved successful. By constantly investing in state-of-the-art equipment and building its own branded content group, Unitel has become a leader in the video production industry. Mr. Gloria also manages Optima Digital, a postproduction outfit to complement Unitel’s work.
Corazon Dayro Ong put her skills as a dietician to good use when she established CDO Foodsphere, Inc. From its initial offerings of tocino and longganisa, CDO has expanded its product line of processed meats to include variants of corned beef, ham, hotdog, bacon and the ulam burger. Her quality products suitable to the Filipino palate and offered at affordable prices have enabled CDO Foodsphere to capture a sizeable share of the consumer market.
Marianne Quebral, recognizing the important role of nonprofit organizations in improving the lives of people and building communities, left a high-paying job to form Venture for Fund Raising. Since 1999, her organization has been offering fundraising solutions for NGOs to enable them to continue with their mission to implement socially relevant programs. This mindset of sustainability is a paradigm shift for NGOs that is catching on fast in the Philippines and in some 20 other countries where Venture for Fund Raising has clients.
Ricardo Reyes Jr. put up his first salon with his life savings of P1,000. He set out to make a name for himself by introducing hairstyle trends and constantly innovating his services. Today, Ricky Reyes has become a household name in the beauty industry, with 43 salon branches all over the country and his own beauty product line to complement his salon service. Ricky Reyes’ philanthropic work through his foundation includes providing livelihood skills and housing for children with cancer.
Carlos Salinas, recognizing the talent of skill of Filipinos in the maritime industry, sought to put the Philippines on the map by making it a reliable labor supplier of seafarers. He established Philippine Transmarine Carriers, Inc., a company with 350 shore-based personnel that has trained and deployed 30,000 officers and crew worldwide, helping carve a reputation for Filipino seafarers as among the best.
Ambassador Jesus Tambunting had over twenty years of banking experience when he established Planters Development Bank. Under his leadership, Plantersbank has made it its mission to enable small and medium enterprises, normally considered difficult and high-risk clients by other banks, to secure the financial resources they need to assist in their businesses. Plantersbank is the country’s largest private development bank, and it is now widely regarded as the number one bank for SMEs. Amb. Tambunting has become known as the entrepreneur for entrepreneurs.
Antonio Tiu was driven by his childhood fascination with plants to create a large agricultural company that would give livelihood to farmers. When he assumed leadership of Agrinurutre Inc. (ANI), he expanded the business by exporting fresh Philippine carabao mangoes, and later, bananas, pineapples and papayas. Under Mr. Tiu’s stewardship, ANI has also expanded business operations to include farming and processed divisions.
William Tiu Lim was only 22 when he ventured into the fishing industry. Over three decades later, as president and CEO of Mega Fishing Corporation, Mr. Tiu Lim has successfully utilized innovative technology to supply 80% of the raw materials of Metro Manila- and Zamboanga-based canning companies as well as the fresh fish requirements in Mindanao marketplaces. He is also the man behind the Mega Sardines brand, showcasing how his company has perfected the high-quality processes of catching-to-canning.
Justin Uy, undeterred by several failed business ventures, banked heavily on technology to grow his dried mango business into what is now known as Profood International Corporation. Profood manufactures a wide range of fruit products and several byproducts including dried fruits, fruit preserves, industrial and consumer purees, concentrates and juice brands. Its products are exported to Canada, the US, Korea and other countries in Asia and Europe, and sold locally.
Salvador Veluz saw the potential of offering the best of Lucban, Quezon to other markets outside his hometown. This was his guiding principle in establishing Buddy’s Pizza and Restaurant, which offers Lucban’s best native delicacies such as the pancit habhab, Lucban longganisa, and budin cassava cake. With eight branches in Metro Manila and Quezon and another two in the pipeline, Buddy’s continues to offer more people a taste of Quezon’s culinary treats.
From among these 19 finalists will be named the Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines 2009 who will represent the country in the World Entrepreneur Of The Year in Monte Carlo, Monaco in June 2010.
In 2003, the very first Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines award was accorded to Jollibee Foods Corporation president and CEO Tony Tan Caktiong, who went on to win as World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2004 in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Socorro Cancio-Ramos, founder of National Book Store, was next named Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines, followed by Lance Gokongwei, President and CEO of Cebu Air, Inc., Senen Bacani, Chairman and President of La Frutera, Inc., and Wilfred Steven Uytengsu, Jr. of Alaska Milk Corporation.
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