Women take center stage in first entrep leadership forum by University of the Philippines Institute for Small-Scale Industries

THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE

UP INSTITUTE FOR SMALL-SCALE INDUSTRIES ISSUE NO. 19

Women take center stage in first entrep leadership forum He further said that the forum was honored by the presence of three such heroes: Dr. Zamora, “an enterprising second president of the University”; Villar, an enterprising NGO executive and an icon in social entrepreneurship; and Bituin, “an enterprising furniture entrepreneur”.

Former Congresswoman Cynthia A. Villar recounts tales of her rising success as a businesswoman, politician and social entrepreneur.

he spotlight turned to two of the country’s top women entrepreneurs in the First Distinguished Entrepreneurship Leadership Forum held last Wednesday, May 16, in UP ISSI. Attended by more than 150 guests from government, academe and industry, the forum dubbed “Accelerating Enterprising Philippines” brought together Myrna C. Bituin, owner and founder of the Pampanga-based Betis Crafts, Inc.; and Cynthia A. Villar, wife of Sen. Manny Villar and former congresswoman of the lone district of Las Piñas City. Other special guests of the forum included Dr. Elvira A. Zamora, the UP vice-president for development; Dr. Paterno V. Viloria and Francisco R. Floro, president and chair respectively of UP ISSI’s major private-sector partner the Small Enterprises Research and Development Foundation (SERDEF), Inc.; and Nelia T. Gonzales, a SERDEF trustee and former member of the UP Board of Regents. The forum, which was sponsored by PLDT KaAsenso, Entrepreneur

Philippines of Summit Media, and EastWest Seed Co., followed SERDEF’s annual general membership meeting in the morning.

The president’s message

UP vice-president for development Dr. Elvira A. Zamora conveys the message of UP president Alfredo E. Pascual to the guests of the First Distinguished Entrepreneurship Leadership Forum held in ISSI.

Dr. Viloria opened the forum by acknowledging its importance to SERDEF’s “advocacy of being an enterprising counselor in a country in dire need of economic heroes”. These heroes that SERDEF honors and seeks to propagate are no less than the entrepreneurs themselves, Dr. Viloria added.

Meanwhile, in a message read by Dr. Zamora to the two women entrepreneur speakers of the forum, UP president Alfredo E. Pascual said he already felt their passion for turning ideas into successful ventures and their commitment to share themselves to inspire others. Before reaching their stature of prominence in the field of entrepreneurship, they have gone through all the difficult twists and turns of the long-winding and uphill climb to success, the president said. During the process, they have studied carefully every facet of their chosen paths, honed themselves to their fullest potentials, struggled with all their might and experienced many downturns and failures. Despite all the obstacles, they pursued their goals until they finally succeeded to be among the best. “It is from this years-long creative process that we draw inspiration that we continue doing what we do best for ourselves, for our family and for society,” said President Pascual in his message. Finally, Dr. Zamora ended by reiterating the highlight of the UP president’s speech during his investiture when he assumed office. He said that the remaking of UP as a great university can only be achieved through its people’s “unified effort and recognition that we are one UP.”

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A story in progress Betis Crafts founder and owner Myrna C. Bituin began her speech by acknowledging that her story is “a story in progress”. The interesting part, she said, is how her enterprise that started from a 10

From politician to social entrepreneur Former Congresswoman Cynthia A. Villar began her speech by expressing her gratitude to the UP College of Business and Administration, of which she and her husband are proud products and where they obtained the knowledge and skills they applied to their own businesses. Mr. and Mrs. Villar started as entrepreneurs by borrowing capital from the Industrial Guarantee and Loan Fund (IGLF), which they invested in a small gravel and sand company in 1975. As an investment banker, the would-be Senator Villar knew how to look for affordable financing and he found it from IGLF.

Myrna C. Bituin of Betis Crafts, Inc. traces how her business started from being one with a 10 thousand peso borrowed capital to what is now a furniture export business.

thousand peso borrowed capital from the National Cottage Industries Development Authority grew to what is now a furniture manufacturing and export business that has found its niche in the high-end international market.

At 14 percent interest rate payable in seven years, the loan, the couple believed, was lower than what the banks and other financing companies offered at that time.

constituents how to weave water hyacinths into baskets. And the rest as they say was history. Soon they were weaving not only baskets but also slippers, bags, furniture and bayongs (the native hand-woven bags). Mrs. Villar did not stop there. Kitchen and garden wastes are now being processed into organic fertilizers, which they sell cheaper than their chemical counterparts. They also decorticate coconuts, separate the fiber and weave it into coco net used for riprapping the riverbank. The process proved to be cheaper than using concrete according to Mrs. Villar. Meanwhile, the peat taken out of the coconut is combined with kitchen wastes and turned into organic fertilizers. They also plant bamboos along the riverbank to have the raw material for making Christmas lanterns.

Will not be the last

One thing led to another; and Mr. and Mrs. Villar soon started their housing business, taking inspiration from the real estate firms to which they delivered gravel and sand.

Her story continues as an entrepreneur now engaged in a different kind of enterprise— social enterprise, which according to her requires goodwill as primary capital. Since her children have all taken over the reins of her business, she now has the time to involve herself in social concerns such as environmental protection through the bamboo propagation project, rights and welfare protection for “the differently abled”, culture and heritage preservation for their Betis Church in Guagua, Pampanga; waste segregation in their village or barangay; and organic backyard vegetable gardening.

But according to the former solon, it was their first initial public offering in 1995 that enabled their business to grow to what it is now. An investment banker involved in low-cost housing development approached the couple and encouraged them to go public. Consequently, they went abroad and raised USD 225 million for 50 percent stake of their company. In the next ten years the enterprise grew to become a one billion dollar company.

She admits that returns from these ventures will take long in coming but will benefit communities and individuals who have limited access to economic opportunities and basic social services.

“The goal of entrepreneurship is to improve lives and not just to make money,” she said.

During the forum, UP ISSI director Prof. Nestor O. Rañeses, who also emceed the program, announced some of the projects that the Institute would spearhead to address some of the woes faced by aspiring entrepreneurs such as lack of capital. Starting this year, he said, UP ISSI would launch another small business incubator program where technology-based startup companies can grow. The Institute would also provide seed money to the winners of a business plan competition for students, which would also be held this year.

Her life as a social entrepreneur started when she assumed office as congresswoman. Las Piñas City used to have flooding as a major problem because the city’s main river used to be clogged by the overabundance of water hyacinths.

In the latter part of the forum, Professor Rañeses thanked all the guests, sponsors and attendees. He promised that the forum would only be the first “but definitely not the last”, and the Institute would do it on a regular basis.

In one parent-teacher association induction ceremony that she attended in one of the schools in the city, she met a basket weaver and exporter. She asked her to teach her

For more information about these programs, Professor Rañeses advised the audience to always visit UP ISSI’s official website.

“I may not live long enough to see the fruits of the seeds that I am sowing, but there will always be the next generation to think of and to prepare the future for,” she said.

The second part of Mrs. Villar’s speech centered on her transformation as a social entrepreneur.

UP ISSI director Prof. Nestor O. Rañeses promises that the forum will not be the last and announces this year’s lineup of upcoming projects and training programs.

ISSUE NO. 19

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Online store for digitized books now open

he country’s pioneer and innovator in entrepreneurship promotion and enterprise development is at it again. UP ISSI delivers another first in its more than 40 years of history: it has opened its online store for some of its most soughtafter publications, which were funded by its main private-sector partner, the Small Enterprises Research and Development Foundation (SERDEF). The Institute recently launched its eBooks Store, an electronic commerce site where SERDEF-published books of ISSI could be bought online at discounted prices. “This is a good platform,” says Ian de Vera, the chair of ISSI’s Knowledge Management, Information and Communications Technology Services Department when asked for a comment

through email. “Before, people can only buy ISSI books by coming to the Institute during office hours. Now they can buy them online anywhere they are and at anytime. They can also take advantage of reading the e-books through the comfort and convenience of their gadgets like an iPad or a Kindle.” The eBooks Store makes available some of the bestsellers of the Institute and SERDEF like Introduction to Entrepreneurship, the first text and reference book on entrepreneurship written in the context of the Philippine business environment. It also features the perennial favorite Dreamers, Doers, Risk Takers book series. Some of the publications like the Entrepreneurial Competency Training (both the student’s workbook and the

instructor’s manual) have been out of print for a long time, and the eBooks Store will make them available again. Downloadable in portable document format, the e-books may be bought online through a link provided in UP ISSI’s official website. Buyers will have to register first, make the order via the virtual shopping cart, confirm their purchase and pay by a credit card through the popular e-commerce facility PayPal. Once they have received the link through an email, they can now download their purchased e-book. The eBooks Store is part of a bigger project of bringing ISSI’s wealth of resources online and making the Institute the national repository of information and resources for entrepreneurship and innovation.

Raising the bar of fo od safety The Promoting Food Industry Competitiveness Program, codenamed PRO-FIT, is a component of a publicprivate partnership project entitled “Introducing Technical Training on Food Safety Regulations and Standards in the Philippines.” It aims to train practitioners on a variety of qualification options on food safety and sanitation practices in UP ISSI.

he country’s pioneer and innovator in entrepreneurship promotion and enterprise development will hold a string of qualification courses on food safety regulation standards under the auspices of leading technical service provider TÜV Rheinland (TÜVR). The program principally aims to capacitate local micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)

in the food and beverage industry so they can become competitive in local and foreign markets. It seeks to generate awareness on food safety and promote the benefits of sanitary regulations and standards; as well as create a coordinated effort of relevant stakeholders to develop curricula for various qualification courses on food safety regulations and standards.

The series of training programs will start with the Train-the-Trainer Workshop (ToT), where a battery of 30 trainers from the food industry, academe, non-government organizations and related government agencies will be trained and tapped for the succeeding five courses. The

certification

courses

following

ISSUE NO. 19

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ISSUE NO. 19 the ToT are Certification Program on Good Manufacturing Practices; Certified Quality Associate; Certified Food Safety Professional; Basics of Food Safety, Hygiene and Food Handling (Basic Course for SMEs); and Diploma in Food Safety Management (including internship and field visit opportunities). The curricula of all these qualification courses will then be designed into a selfpaced e-Learning Toolkit and offered

through the UP ISSI website. Besides the Institute and TÜVR, other organizations involved in this project are ASSIST, a non-stock, nonprofit international capacity-building organization; AFOS Foundation for Entrepreneurial Development, a nonprofit organization founded by the members of the Federation of Catholic Entrepreneurs; and SEQUA gGmbH, a

worldwide organization promoting the development of the private sector and its business organization members, as well as the qualification of skilled employees and managers.

AIM, ISSI hold rainers t course on business integrity, accountability

Some 23 participants, including nine from UP ISSI, attended the said seminar, which aimed to enhance the ethical values among micro, small and medium-scale entrepreneurs as well as provide practical measures and appropriate safeguards and controls in dealing with integrity, ethics and good governance in the day-to-day business operations.

The same proactive attitude was echoed by the Resource Speaker. Ms. Montes’ lectured about earthquakes and earthquake hazards, earthquake preparedness, the Metro Manila Earthquake Impact Reduction Study, and the conduct of an earthquake drill. Before ending, Ms. Montes reminded the participants that “Earthquakes cannot be prevented, but the damage they cause can be greatly reduced with communication strategies, emergency preparedness, planning, education, and safer building standards.”

Mechatronics Technologies Corporation, Tekton Prefab Construction Technology Corporation, Montessori Teacher Preparation of the U.S., ControlSoft Inc., and AFS Intercultural Programs Philippines.

he Asian Institute of Management Centre for Corporate Governance Hills Program on Governance; and the country’s pioneer and innovator in entrepreneurship promotion and enterprise development, UP ISSI, held a Training of Trainers Course on Integrity and Accountability in Business in UP ISSI last Thursday, May 10, in the Institute.

Quake preparedness seminar held

ome 40 UP ISSI staff and E. Virata Hall tenants attended an earthquake preparedness seminar conducted by Angela G. Montes of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Department of Science and Technology last May 11. This was the second preparation course provided by the UP ISSI Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Committee prior to the conduct of an annual fire and earthquake Drill. As with the fire safety and prevention Seminar conducted by the Bureau of Fire Protection held last month, the UP ISSI OHS Committee believes that preparation is always the best tool in facing disasters. To prepare both the staff and the tenants, education and training are essential. UP ISSI recognizes this responsibility of preparing the staff and tenants to avoid any disasters caused by fire and/ or earthquakes through the OSH Committee.

She also distributed informational leaflets and posters from the Geologic Disaster Awareness and Preparedness Division of PHIVOLCSDOST to all participants towards the end of the seminar Currently housing double its previous year’s number of occupants, the E. Virata Hall is home to UP ISSI employees and staff from other offices, namely: the UP Diliman Accounting Office, UP Diliman Cash Office, Small Enterprises Research and Development Foundation,

UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES Institute for Small-Scale Industries E. Virata Hall, E. Jacinto Street, UP Campus, Diliman, Quezon City Pioneering. Innovating. Entrepreneuring.