Business month to inspire entrepreneurs

CEBU, Philippines – This year’s Cebu Business Month will focus on strengthening and sustaining the business prowess of Cebu amid a global financial catastrophe.

The 18th CBM, which carries the theme “Get Inspired,” is aimed at inspiring entrepreneurs in Cebu to keep on moving and be inspired by successful business icons that had been through several challenges in the business arena.

 Organized by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), CBM 2009 chairman Jay Y. Yuvallos said that instead of pursuing more on business networking and international promotion, the event, which is the largest business event in Cebu, will zoom in the survivors of the lingering world crisis.

Working with an earmarked expenditure target of P12 million, the month-long event in June will showcase successful and inspiring business leaders and entrepreneurs who continue to push their nerves and stay in business, despite great difficulties.

“It is the best time to provide Cebuanos the inspiration they need to surmount the challenges. [After-all] crisis or no crisis all of us needs to be inspired,” said CCCI president Sam Chioson.

Based on the platform of the three industries considered as the “bread and butter” of Cebu’s economy—Information, Communication Technology (ICT), Tourism and Entrepreneurship, Yuvallos said players of these fields will be given utmost help to survive and get strength from established players.

Yuvallos added that this year’s CBM will mark another historical moment—to encourage industry players to “hold hands” together and prepare for the recovery, which he believes will be attained very soon.

While the rest of the world is haunted by the economic future uncertainties, Cebu will prove its “resiliency” and unity. Together—Cebuanos will be able to fight this worst time in economic history, he said.

The objective of this year’s CBM will be more on direct impact to the players, setting aside the event’s traditional goal of promoting Cebu industries to national and international levels, Yuvallos said.

 The Entrepreneurship committee for instance, headed by young Cebuana entrepreneur Kate Dychangco Anzani of the Dychangco Group of Companies, will open up an inspirational gallery and exhibit dubbed “100 Trails of Success” that will showcase Cebu’s inspiring Entrepreneurs and their businesses recognizing their efforts and sharing their inspirational stories to the public.

Tourism maverick Mila Espina who heads the CBM Tourism events said that this year’s CBM Tourism event, will bring a twist to the promotion of tourism sector in the province, with emphasis on discovering the unexplored places in Cebu—thus the theme, “Explore Cebu.”

ICT on the other hand, which is the most resilient industry, will strengthen the industry’s dynamism in pushing Cebu as an emerging Island of Innovation.

Chaired by ICT expert Jerry Rapes of software engineering services company-- Exist Global Inc., the ICT related events this coming June will give light to the players and concerned government agencies to make Cebu as a legitimate ICT player in the world.

“We don’t want to stay as the number one ‘emerging BPO destination in the world’,” Rapes said emphasizing that Cebu stakeholders have to work together closely into bringing Cebu ICT to a higher level, from emerging to “emerged”.