Let’s bring hope

Last week, I was interviewed over Laging Handa, and we got to talk about how consumer confidence will be affected by all the news that’s been hogging the headlines lately. I shared during the interview that RFM always sees a high demand for our ice cream and spaghetti products in the weeks leading to the holidays. Over the years, sales have been so brisk around this time of year that we know to produce enough to supply the market for months. This year, though, we found ourselves running out of stock. Demand is such that we have to pick up the pace and supply more.

It’s a welcome problem for us and it’s good news for the economy. This year is turning out to be one of the best holiday spending seasons we’ve had and that’s a good sign. People want to celebrate. This also comes at the same time that the Philippines’ credit ratings got a boost from ratings agencies like R&I and Moody’s; more recently, S&P bumped it from “stable” to “positive.” Credit ratings are a bellwether for the confidence of outsiders on the country as an investment prospect; they reflect the general assessment of the country as judged by the outside world. The Philippines is currently investment-grade on all the important credit ratings agencies, and that should make us glad.

The general mood inside and outside the Philippines cannot be dismissed. For us manufacturers, a happy environment means better spending. The happier people are, the better for the economy. It just follows: when things are looking up, you feel like committing to the future, you feel like celebrating.

It’s also the time for giving back. That’s why we at Go Negosyo have timed our major events for around the holiday season. This week we’ve organized two major events: our year’s biggest Youthpreneur event with DepEd Sec. Sonny Angara and the annual Balik-Bayan Summit.

Youthpreneur, our program to reach out and strengthen entrepreneurship training among senior high school students from public schools, is already celebrating its first year. We were fortunate to have the support of the Department of Education, which is a big help considering the immensity of the task of coordinating among the public schools across the country. Already we’ve held the Youthpreneur events in public schools in General Santos City, Cebu, Lucena, Laoag, Baguio, Bataan, Occidental Mindoro and several cities in the National Capital Region. It even spun off The Boardroom Experience, where the students interact with the CEOs of the largest corporations in the country and get a glimpse of what it’s like to have a career in the corporate world.

Sec. Angara will be gracing our biggest Youthpreneur yet this Thursday at the country’s biggest (and the world’s second biggest) high school, the Rizal High School in Pasig City. All the DepEd bigwigs will be there to encourage the students, as will successful entrepreneurs like Angkas CEO George Royeca, who I’m sure will fire up the imagination of students once again.

Two days after Youthpreneur, on Saturday, Dec. 7, we’ll be holding the Balik-Bayan Summit, our event designed specifically to help OFWs and their families become successful entrepreneurs. It’s going to be a packed day at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City, both in terms of content and attendees. I’m told there are already 5,000 people who’ve signed up for the event.

Of course, the government will be well-represented; I’ll be glad to be on stage again with DTI Sec. Cris Roque and we’ll be joined by Dept. of Migrant Workers Sec. Hans Leo Cacdac. Corporate heavy-hitters like BPI’s Mariana Zobel, Bayo CEO Anna Marie Lagon and Commission on Filipinos Overseas Sec. Klink Ang will be sharing their insights on financial literacy, entrepreneurial grit and the view from the government’s side. OFWs interested in agripreneurship can learn from King Tower Farms’ Angie Mead King, Agbeam CEO Luis Macalincag, Yovel East president James Amparo and Lionheart Farms Phils. president Christian Moeller. And because content creation is such a big tool for micro and small entrepreneurs, successful content creators-slash-entrepreneurs like Nicole Alba, Jonah Sison, Queen Hera, Dr. Irene Robredo, Maki Santos, Aya Fernandez and Hayb Anzures will be sharing tips throughout several sessions during the day.

The Balik-Bayan Summit is when we give out the 2024 Inspiring Balik-Bayan Awards. The annual award is organized by Go Negosyo to recognize the contributions of OFWs, share their success stories, celebrate the achievements of OFWs-turned-entrepreneurs and foster entrepreneurial aspirations among current and retired OFWs.

Lately, the dollar has strengthened against the Philippine peso. This is good news for all our dollar-remitting OFWs but bad news for the local economy, albeit it makes our industries more competitive. We’ve gone through these cycles before, but I think we can introduce a variable that can make our economy immune from these ups and downs. We all know that remittances do the heavy lifting for the economy, but we have to do something different this time. We can balance it out if our OFWs and their families can put their hard-earned money to work for them by helping them open businesses.

The caveat is that they should have the information and education they need to do it right. We want OFWs to be able to retire in the Philippines and still provide for their family. They have to be given the skills to become entrepreneurs. They must be protected from the get-rich-quick schemes and safeguarded from the investment scams that prey on them.

In the context of the three M’s of successful entrepreneurship, OFWs already have one of the three M’s: money or capital. What they need is mentoring and access to market, both of which can be acquired if we set the right environment for them. In the case of the youth, we should make sure they have access to all three.

With the season for celebration now upon us, let’s give hope and nurture the growing entrepreneurial spirit among OFWs and the youth. The more negosyantes we help to succeed, the better it is for our economy.