Cebu biz icons make way for micro-traders

CEBU, Philippines- After having successfully etched their names in the business arena, Cebuano entrepreneurs Steve Benitez and Jay Aldeguer now want to help micro-businesses penetrate the mainstream market by carrying their products along with their expansion plans.

Coffee shop chain owner Benitez and Pasalubong retail frontliner Aldeguer are only two of the many pro-active entrepreneurs, who want to help improve the lives of the farmers in the mountains and the "unrecognized" micro businesses in the different communities.

Benitez for instance, apart from sourcing his coffee beans directly from coffee farmers around the country, he is bringing other "Pinoy" and small enterprises' products to the mainstream commercial highway through selling and promoting them in his growing coffee shop chain around the country.

"While we are strengthening Bo's Coffee as a pure Filipino coffee brand, the company's advocacy is not only to promote Philippine coffee to the world, but also showing off quality Filipino-made brands that are marketed via social enterprise," said Bo's Coffee president Steve Benitez.

Bo's Coffee Outlets nationwide will also serve as an outlet for social entrepreneurs’ products directly sourced out from farmers.

All Bo's Coffee outlets are now offering social enterprise lifestyle products such as Bayani Brew juice, Theo and Philo chocolates, Loudbasstard, and also partners with Anthill Fabric Gallery for coffee shop's requirements for Filipino inspired interiors and Bo's collectible products.

"I want to help Filipino farmers to be part of the business eco-system," said Benitez explaining that it is primarily the reason why he is working closely with social enterprises as the company's way of helping directly the farmers, and promoting pro-Filipino advocacy.

With its current 58 outlets nationwide, Bo’s Coffee Club is using Philippine-produced coffee beans, except for de-caffeinated which is not grown in the Philippines.

Likewise, Aldeguer's outlets of "Pasalubong Centers" are now involving the home-based delicacy or "kakanin" makers to its network of stores nationwide, his way of promoting the old snack favorites of Filipinos locally called "kakanin" to the new generation travelers.

Already, Islands Group chain of "Pasalubong Centers" are selling Biko, Tagaktak, bibingka, Kuchinta, Pichi-Pichi, Palitaw, Sapin-Sapin, Puto and sikwate, among others.                  

According to Aldeguer, this move is the company's way of helping the Philippines to strengthen its own micro industries.

This unique corporate social responsibility  program of the company called the "inclusive business program," allows local micro-entrepreneurs  to grow and expand and be part of the business eco-system.

Initially, Aldeguer invited some local delicacy makers to be part of the company's Islands Pasalubong Center Islands Pinoy Deli section.

Aside from letting these micro-entrepreneurs display and sell their products at the outlet, Aldeguer said the program also provides subsidized rent, giving lessons and mini-seminars on proper branding and packaging in partnership with the Department of Trade and industry (DTI-7).

"We are trying to establish profiling process. If they have the quality of entrepreneurs who want to expand their businesses," he said.

While enabling the small and micro-entrepreneur is a worldwide trend adopted by some corporations and most governments, Aldeguer said that the Islands Group will start this new trend in Cebu to create an effective platform to generate growth in the cottage industry.  (FREEMAN)