Empowering SMEs in 2015

A week ago, I was told by Doris Magasaysay Ho, who heads the Asia Society Philippines and APEC Business Advisory Council, that they would like to make Go Negosyo as their institutional partner in the forthcoming APEC Summit on SME Development.

Doris is part of the group that is leading the preparations for next year’s big APEC Summit in November.  Doris and I share in the vision of empowering the MSMEs to take their business to the next level.  

Doris hosted a dinner in her residence to welcome and allow her good friend in ABAC, Diane Wang, to share her views on the e-commerce boom in China. The dinner was relatively an intimate one, with just about 35 to 40 people mostly in the technology and e-commerce community. We were honored to have the business icon Wash Sycip join us, together with key personalities in the APEC and Asia Society groups. From the Go Negosyo family and friends, we were happy to see Myla Villanueva of the MDI Group, Asec. Bettina Quimson of DOST-ICT, Paco Sandejas of Narra Ventures with wife Christine, Earl Valencia of Ideaspace, Mark and Reese Ruiz of Hapinoy and R2R, Ibba Bernardo of Sari mobile app.

Diane is the founder & CEO of DHGate.com and one of Forbes’ Asia’s Most Powerful Businesswomen.  She gave a compelling presentation on the driving force behind e-Commerce business in China, her views on the cross border e-commerce - next decade of e-Commerce, and how to capture this opportunity.

Diane said that in 2014, APEC prioritized the enhancement SME’s global competitiveness. ICT and E-commerce were identified as best ways to enable SME’s to access finance, global market, and sustain empowerment.  In China, they have empowered Chinese SMEs to transform and upgrade their business through E-commerce. The biggest driving force behind this success is the millions of Chinese SMEs that were encouraged to grow their businesses online. Over the years, e-commerce has directly created 1.8 millions jobs plus 16.5 millions of jobs in e-commerce within the business.

Diane gave inspiring examples on how low-income micro and individual entreps managed to grow their business, earning several millions via online. There can be marketing service companies to assist SMEs in product description, decorate online stall, upload and display products. The logistics service companies to help in design shipping plot, choosing the most effective shipping channel at the best prices and, customer service companies to help in online services. 

Golden ladies of entrepreneurship: Julie Gandionco with husband Rodrigo and Esther Vibal with son, Gus.

The Internet is really a great equalizer. We all can make this happen if we raise the level of awareness and knowhow.  The Internet has indeed reached a stage where it can make one fulfill his or her dream and beat poverty!

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Vibal Publishing and Julie’s Bakeshop. Two different companies from different industries with different success stories. But what’s common with these two is that they are both led by dedicated women whose maternal characteristics were also offered to their businesses.

Esther Vibal of Vibal Publishing and Julie Gandionco of Julie’s Bakeshop are both in their late 80s today but are still active and hands-on in managing their businesses. These admirable Filipina entrepreneurs have pledged their time and effort ever since the start of their business ventures without sacrificing their duties as mothers and wives. That may be a challenge, but to them management is the key.

Esther continued what her late husband, Hilarion Vibal had started. Her husband founded the Vibal Publishing in 1953 which “Filipinized” educational books for children.  During their early years, they faced trials which challenged the existence of their publishing house, but due to Esther’s management and leadership, they were able to expand and keep up with the changing environment of book publishing. Now, they have produced more than 2,500 titles including the Go Negosyo books.

Julie, on the other hand, started being an entrepreneur in the 1970s when she had three canteen concessionaires in her hometown, Cebu.  When she saw the demand for bread and pastries, she opened a small bakery to fill the demand from the market. Since her expertise is in cooking and not in baking, she learned the ins and outs of baking step-by-step. Her effort to learn all she needed to know in her new business led to the success of the country’s largest bakeshop chain.

I saw how they have put, not only their time and effort, but also their skills and abilities to use. And because of the perfect combo of their knowledge and knowhow, they have become large players in their respective industries and have been admired as top Filipina entrepreneurs in the country.

Just like a mother who will always be there for her children even in their old age, these golden Filipina entrepreneurs will always be part of their companies’ growth and progress. The passion that they have exerted from the start, has and will always be part of their success formula.