Crafting better future for CdO

Cagayan de Oro may not be as popular as other cities in the country but it is certainly headed for progress, having established companies like the Salay Handmade Paper Industries, Inc. (SHAPII) and Limketkai Group of Companies, which provide several jobs to residents in the area.

Starting out as a project that hoped to provide better means of livelihood to the then impoverished town of Salay, SHAPII, a company involved in paper crafting, grew to become a dynamic and vibrant enterprise looked upon by many not only as a source of income, but also as source of  pride for the city.

Productively coming up with the original method of using fiber or abaca, leaves of pineapple, and other indigenous materials, Loreta Rafisura, who was initially assisted by eight other civic-minded persons, has gone beyond her original goal of helping town folks. From peddling their products and displaying them on consignment basis at stores in Cagayan de Oro City and even in Manila, Rafisura was  able to nurture the motley group of 10 people to its present size of 300.

Despite the challenges it had to face during its course of operation, the company persevered to further improve its network and strengthen its market. Although there were problems like “crab mentality” and sustainability along the way, the company stood firm, guided by the values of transparency, honesty, simplicity, self-reliance and trust in God.

Like Rafisura, Alfonso Lim, the brains behind the remarkable and unprecedented growth of the Limketkai Group, had always desired to contribute to the economic growth of Cagayan de Oro City.

Involved in various sectors such as manufacturing, real estate development, leasing and retailing, Lim is at present pursuing the full execution of the Limketkai Group’s Master Development Plan, which he designed to convert the Limketkai Center into the Central Business District of Cagayan de Oro City.

Once completed, this center will call for the establishment of vertical developments such as high-rise condominiums for offices, financial centers and business process outsourcing or call centers. 

Because of his confidence in the city he grew up in and his contributions to its development, Lim is held in high esteem by his townmates.

Rafisura and Lim will each be recognized by Presidential Consultant for Entrepreneurship Jose Concepcion III as an Inspiring CDO Entrepreneur, an award given by the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship as part of the Go Negosyo sa Cagayan de Oro slated on Oct. 19 at the Atrium, Limketkai Center.

Go Negosyo sa CDO is part of PCE’s latest campaign, the Go Negosyo Caravan, which aims to bring the Go Negosyo forum and expositions to key cities in the country. The Caravan has already visited Cebu, Bacolod, Baguio, Manila, and Pampanga.

Go Negosyo sa CDO is presented by Philippine Airlines, PAGCOR, Globe, Hyundai, PLDT, Smart, Islands Souvenirs, Philippine Trade and Training Center, DTI-OTOP, and RFM Corp. Other partners of the event include The Philippine STAR, The Philippine Daily Inquirer, The Manila Bulletin, GMA Network Inc., RPN9, NBN4, Aspac-Law, Ideal Minds Corporation, The Master’s Lighthouse Foundation and Full Circle Communications.