BPI Foundation has named the ten awardees of the BPI Sinag Accelerate 2017, a competition that aims to help social entrepreneurs scale up their businesses and magnify their impact to the community.
Participants underwent to various business bootcamps through the help of the foundation’s partner organization, Bayan Academy. The topics covered operations management, marketing, and human resource which are essential for the growth of SEs.
The winners were chosen from the 20 finalists who had pitched their business plans to a panel of judges that included big names in the business sector like Ramon Noel Altamirano (Vice President/Division Head for Retail Loans, Marketing, and Systems, BPI), Carlo Calimon (Director, StartUp Village), Dr. Eduardo Morato, Jr. (President, Bayan Academy For Social Entrepreneurship and Human Resources, Inc.), Sheila Ramos (angel investor supporting budding enterprises), and Priya Thachadi (Co-Founder and CEO, Villgro Philippines). The judges, together with DTI Regional Operations Group Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya, are also present in the ceremony to award the top ten social enterprises. The winners will receive intensive business trainings and a financial aid up to PHP 500,000, depending on their business needs.
Here is the complete list of winners arranged in alphabetical order:
-Accents and Petals Crafts and Accessories, a novelty shop selling flowers made from recycled wood and paper
-Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation, Inc. which develops, manufactures, and installs technologies such as ram pumps for drinking and irrigation water, for the poor in the uplands
-Association of Differently-Abled Persons in Iloilo Multi-Purpose Cooperative, a furniture making business giving jobs to persons with disabilities
-Buhatan River Eco-Adventure Service Cooperative (BRESC), an eco-tourism service in Sorsogon promoting the attractions of the Buhatan River
-Coffee For Peace, a coffee supplier of world class Arabica and Robusta beans working to promote peace in Mindanao
-CustomMade Crafts Center, Inc. a weaving novelty shop offering assorted items designed with Hinabol fabric
-Happy Helpers (Masasayang Nanay Home Services Corporation) a professional home cleaning service that employs and empowers mothers from poor communities
-Lamlifew Village Museum and School of Living Tradition, a living museum which showcases the cultural practices of Blaan tribe in the Sarangani Province
-Mori Creations, a designer of innovative fashion accessories collaborates with mothers from poor communities in Apolonio Samson, Quezon City
-Zarraga Integrated Diversified Organic Farmers Association (ZIDOFA), a community of farmers revolutionizing rice growth with rich organic fertilizer
“Social entrepreneurs aim to permanently and systematically transform an unfair societal condition. They act directly – creating a product, service or a new way of doing things that drives the transformation of the status quo. We, at BPI Foundation, want to harness this innate desire and work with them to be the force of change in the world, to ensure that no one gets left behind, ” said Maricris San Diego, Executive Director of BPI Foundation.
To fully support and thank the social enterprises for joining the annual business challenge, BPI Foundation is set to organize the Sinag ng Pasko bazaar on December 13, at Palm Drive Activity Center of Glorietta 2.
Learn more about the BPI Sinag Accelerate program by following Sinag and BPI Foundation’s Facebook Page. You can also visit the official Sinag and BPI Foundation websites through sinag.bpifoundation.org and www.bpifoundation.org