You just never know

Tomorrow is Go Negosyo’s second summit dedicated to Filipina women, but all men are still invited to attend. This is just two and a half weeks after our successful technopreneurship summit which had a full house crowd in attendance.

This month of March is Women’s Month, and the date tomorrow, March 7 Friday at the World Trade Center, will be the 6th Filipina Entrepreneurship Summit – this is what we have done in the past eight years of Go Negosyo and now it is going on its 9th year.

My grandmother Victoria Araneta, from my mom’s side, was a great entrepreneur. During her time, she founded FEATI University and FEATI bank which later became Citytrust bank. She was a very strong willed woman who was quite intense and passionate.

I was quite young then and if I remember it right was still in grade school before Martial law. I still remember spending my vacation days learning how to type in FEATI School. At that time, it was regarded as one of the best universities. Thru this past eight years of my involvement in entrepreneurship, I have met most of the inspiring and entrepreneurial women that we have. To name a few of what I call “grandprenuers” are those who have been part of Go Negosyo thru the years. We have Nanay Coring of National Bookstore, she was about 82 when she joined our advocacy; Julie Gadiongco of Julie’s Bakeshop who is about the same age as Nanay Coring; Ester Vibal of Vibal Publishing who is quite active and continues to support our foundation and believes in introducing entrepreneurship even at grade school, she is the largest supplier of textbooks to public and private schools and is now leading the way into technology-driven and digital learning materials.

Women comprise the biggest number of entrepreneurs in our country, most of them in the micro and small businesses. People wonder why. It is basically the mother’s instinct to provide the basic needs for her children. Even in animals you can see the motherly touch to provide for food, care and motherly love. So God has given this role to women and entrepreneurship is innate in almost all of them.

From the simple direct selling to the sari sari store, wet market vendors, and carinderias just to name a few of the many micro business models. Of course there are those who made it beyond micro and small business but this might just be less than one percent compared to those in micro and small business. This is why it is important that big businesses must look into inclusive growth this is the real social entrepreneurship- converting or finding a way how to help micro and small businesses and using one’s existing business model to help them.

Today we will recognize 10 inspiring women who have done very well in business. Although not all of them are of the same business size, some much bigger. What makes them deserving to be recognized is their own inspiring stories.

This year we have Mary Joy Abaquin, founder of the first Multiple Intelligence International School in the country, Gwen Albarracin, president of Center for Pop, Michelle Asence – Fontelera, CEO of Zen Zest Asia, owner of Dragon Fruit Farm M Edith Dacuycuy, Monique Hilario the owner of Lay Bare Waxing Boutique, owner of XC Manufacturing and Trading Corp. Donna Jiao, executive vice president of Universal Harvester Inc. Dr. Milagros Ong – How, Rappler.com’s CEO Maria Ressa, Nurture Spa president Cathy Turvill, and Leslie Corp. president Judy Wong Guevara. We also give special recognition to Chiqui Escareal Go as a very active entrepreneur-enabler and mentor thru Mansmith and Fielders and Day 8 advocacy to mentor micro and small entrepreneurs.

We hope that like all other past awardees, these new set of inspiring Filipina entrepreneurs will join the fold of helping others who were once like them. I would like to thank the co-chair of this event Alice Eduardo, president of Santa Elena Construction and Development, for her full support. She has committed to help our micro and small women entrepreneurs who were just like her when she was starting.  She also fully supports the Go Negosyo bill of Senator Bam Aquino as this will give our micro and small entrepreneurs the chance to get trainings, mentorship, and funding needed to grow. It will allow them to also be free from income tax provided they have an asset size less than P3 million.

And of course, thank you as well to Senator Grace Poe, momprenuer Kris Aquino, renowned broadcast journalists Korina Sanchez and Karen Davila, radio DJ Nicole Hyala and Rep. Leni Robredo for showing their support for this summit dedicated in inspiring and empowering Filipinas.

I encourage all women to attend the 6th Filipina Entrepreneurship Summit. This is a good way to get fresh insights and great ideas from the successful and practicing women entrepreneurs. This jampacked event will be livestreamed by our partner Rappler to allow more Filipinos to be inspired. This is your chance to be inspired and you just never know you may be the next Nanay Coring of National Bookstore. Dream, Believe, Achieve! See you tomorrow.