Entrepreneurs and MSMEs owners met in City Sports Club last June 25-26, 2024 as part of the Cebu Business Month (CBM) celebration. The Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) organized the two-day forum with the theme of “CBM 2024: Padayon Cebu a Summit to Inspire, Promote, & Grow MSMEs Entrepreneurship Program.”
It included keynote speeches by heads of corporations in Cebu and fueled fireside chats that discussed MSMEs’ growth through the use of digital tools for business development.
CCCI’s President, Jay Yuvallos Yuvallos and Regan Rex King delivered the opening messages on the forum’s first day. It was followed by the Chairperson of the CBM 2024 Entrepreneurship Committee, Brigette Garcia-Alegrado for the event rationale.
All three speakers highlighted how corporations may help in inspiring MSMEs, giving them the right tools for effective promotion, and encouraging them to grow and upscale into a bigger business type.
Inspire: From Startup to Starship
The first keynote speaker, Bernie Liu, shared the humble beginning of LH Paragon and the five core values (entrepreneurial spirit, god-centeredness, integrity, love for the work and business, and social responsibility) that the MSMEs may use to being an industry giant. For Liu, while all of their values are important, they resonate deeply the most with social responsibility.
“Our philanthropic heart was the LH Foundation. And we would like to think that more than our companies, this is our beacon of purpose. Or as you will call it in my talk, our starship.” Liu added.
After being established for over a decade ago, it has collaborated with the government, social enterprises, NGOs, and the church.
His speech was followed by the forum’s first fireside chat which discussed stories of scaling from MSMEs to corporate. It was composed of four panelists: Jonathan Uy, William Chiongbian II, Julita Urbina, Bobong Castillo, and Jay Aldeguer. It was moderated by the Chairman and CEO of The Pages Food Group, Bunny Pages.
These corporate giants left the attendees with the tips of grabbing every opportunity, having and growing with good and reliable people, all the while observing corporate discipline and steadiness.
Promote: Business Promotion in the Digital Economy
Cofounder and CEO of D’ Wallet Technologies Corp (dba DTaka), Emmanuel Samson, started the afternoon session with a discussion on the blockchain basics and how it can contribute to digital change in the digital economy.
It was followed by another fireside chat consisting of three panelists: Ariel Alegado, Faith Oberez, and Isa Cruz.
The three of them found resonance with the importance of using digital tools such as social media in promoting their businesses. Don Macchiatos and At Home Massage specifically used influencers and Facebook to grow, respectively. Meanwhile, Seven Pantry uses digital marketing through a community-driven lens, collecting organic responses from the people they believe are talking to the appropriate audience.
Aside from these, the panelist also highlighted the importance of resilience and adaptability to the changes in their businesses.
Grow: Digital Tools to Improve MSMEs Competitiveness
Founding Partner of the Gigil Group, Herbert Hernandez engaged the audience with a few of the company’s creative trending advertisements. Gigil is the creative mind behind Levi’s (Studs), RC Cola (Whatever), Coco Tea (Cool), Netflix (Trese Vandalized Billboards), Grab (Summer and Niel), Netflix (Moa Globe and 4dish pot), among other advertisements.
A panel discussion, with Hernandez being one of them, transpired with three others: Megi Lindayag, Martin Limgenco, and Lerick Elipe. All four agreed with adaptability to the changes in the business and maximizing every digital tool present to their advantage.
Garcia shared a roadmap to scaling medium-sized businesses to new heights calling it 4Gs (Goal, Gaps, Gear-Up, and Grow). She added that defining the goals and gaps in scaling up, bridging the gaps, and taking actions to scale up are important in making significant development with the business.
The first day ended with another networking opportunity and is set to have another forum on the next one. It will also include keynote speeches and fireside chats from a different set of entrepreneurs and business industries.