The Young Dare Be Entrepreneurs,
They Dare Be Filipinos

The 4 Es Club, that is, Earth, Education, Environment, Entrepreneurship. Right now, I’m the President and only member. This is a crusade. A crusade begins with one man, one mind.

Actually, I just came out with the new name but this crusade is about 2 years old, and I did not start it. He did. He is Jose Maria ‘Joey’ Concepcion III, Presidential Consultant on Entrepreneurship. A few years earlier, he had founded the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship (PCE), ‘together with the country’s finest entrepreneurs’ (Joey’s Blog). It takes one to know one.

And who might the PCE Board of Trustees be? gonegosyo.net lists their names:

Joey Concepcion, President and CEO of RFM Corp, one of the largest food and beverage companies in the Philippines
Tony Tan Caktiong, Jollibee Foods Corp (Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year)
Socorro Ramos, National Bookstore (Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year)
Harley Sy, SM Investments Corp
Vivienne Tan, Entrepreneurs School of Asia
Rolando Hortaleza, Splash Group of Companies
Felipe Gozon, GMA Network CEO
Joselito Campos, Greenfields Development Southeast Asia Food Empire.

All fine entrepreneurs, all Filipinos, if not all young.

The crusade they call GoNegosyo (GoBusiness). Confucius says: ‘If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime’ (egreenway.com). So, GoNegosyo says: ‘Teach a nation how to fish, feed the nation many lifetimes.’

Is GoNegosyo condemning all Filipinos to be fishermen?

No! ‘We cannot all be doctors,’ wrote Dr Jose Rizal, the Filipino national hero, to one of his nephews in awe of his magnificent mind and miraculous hands. My own research tells me he made the blind see; he operated successfully on his sightless mother’s eyes and his townmates saw it as a miracle. ‘One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see’ (John 9: 25, New American Bible). Condemned to exile by the Spanish conquistadores, Rizal himself was an entrepreneur in Dapitan in Southern Philippines, and he was busy and happy. We are condemned only by ourselves.

Neither does GoNegosyo condemn us only to fishing. They have a long list of business categories prepared and an even longer list of mentors ready, willing and able to serve:

Advertising / Public Relations – Pocholo Gonzales, Myrna Yao
Agriculture / Chemicals / Forestry – Henry Lim
Beauty & Wellness – Catherine Brillantes, Rolando Hortaleza, Celestino Reyes, Mary Anne Tolentino
Biotech – Rolando Hortaleza, Maoi Arroyo
Computers / Electronics – Ben Colayco
Consumer Goods – Joey Concepcion III, Jonathan Jay Aldeguer
Education / Training – Alexis Ledesma, Sonia Aquino, Antonio Lopez, Ricarte Gapuz, Angelita Resurreccion, Danny Cabulay, Eunice Areola, Leo Riingen, Rey Nograles, Genevieve Ledesma-Tan, Jay Bernardo, Andy Ferreria
Entrepreneurship – Joey Concepcion III, Jay Bernardo, Andy Ferreria
Fashion / Apparel – Ronald Pineda, Victor Tan, Delby Bragais
Finance / Insurance / Real Estate – Quintin Tan, Henry Lim, Trace Trajano, Edgar Generoso, Benel Lagua, Federico Gonzalez, Myrna Yao
Food & Beverage – Ricardo Cuna, Loudette Dayrit, Roberto Francisco, Pacita Juan, Rommel Juan, Johnlu Koa, Richard Sanz, Ramon Lopez
Franchise – Ricardo Cuna, Victor Tan, Lin Deres, Celestino Reyes, Rommel Juan, Richard Sanz
Hotel & Restaurant – Lin Deres
Information & Communications Technology – Myla Villanueva, Mike Jurado, Yu Ming Chin, Federico Gonzalez, Mary Anne Tolentino, Wilson Ng, Paco Sandejas
Management – Alexis Ledesma, Yu Ming Chin, Genevieve Ledesma-Tan, Federico Gonzalez
Media / Publishing – Lloyd Luna
Printing-Packaging – Patrick Pesengco
Restaurant – Genevieve Ledesma-Tan
Retail – Victor Tan, Henry Lim, Patrick Pesengco
Tourism / Travel – Eric Papa, Ariel Jersey, Marissa Nallana, Naty Sugguiyao
Trading – Imelda Madarang, Myrna Yao.

All counselors / guides / tutors / teachers / advisers – if not all young.

And they all mean business.

They are, as Enterprise puts it (enterprise.ph), ‘a new breed of role models: successful entrepreneurs who, despite the present challenges, continue to believe in the country and its future.’ To believe is the first challenge.

Last year, 2006 February 23, in her speech at the GoNegosyo Enterprise Summit, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo advised Filipinos to ‘be optimistic and be not afraid’ and ‘not let politicking and destabilization put down or destroy what we have here before us … the Filipino spirit of enterprise’ (ops.gov.ph). At the same time, she asked the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines to immediately set aside P50M to finance promising business startups selected through the PCE. (Latest news on this? Her word was their command. More on this next time.)

‘Before you can become an entrepreneur, you must believe first in your country,’ Joey Concepcion said yesterday, November 9, during the 35th Anniversary celebration of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) at the Intercontinental Manila. He was speaking to about 250 people, mostly scientists in agriculture, forestry, natural resources. Among the avid listeners who had patiently waited for the keynote speaker were Science Secretary Estrella Alabastro and Executive Director of PCARRD Patricio Faylon. Joey’s helicopter couldn’t land atop the Intercon or anywhere near because of turbulence; they landed at Alabang instead and arrived by car. When technology lets you down, technology picks you up.

As I see it, Joey’s / the PCE’s mission is, to quote Enterprise (cited): ‘to promote entrepreneurship by enhancing education (formal and non-formal), developing the entrepreneurial mindset, and unifying key stakeholders to create an environment conducive for business startups.’

So there you have 3: Entrepreneurship, Education, Environment.

And now I shall introduce you to the Earth.

The Earth, especially the drylands, millions of hectares of these in Africa, Asia, Australia, Latin America, with hundreds of millions of people dependent on them for livelihood. Ask about them from a Filipino, William Dar, Director General of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), which is based in India, where millions of the dryland poor eke out their living from resources as meager as the moisture from the soil in their fields or farms.

The Earth, which now is besieged by devastations that are clear-cut warnings of climate change. We cannot stop it but we can mitigate the adverse effects of global warming by planting what I referred to February this year as ‘the great climate crop’ (americanchronicle.com): sweet sorghum, one of the darling crops of William Dar’s Team ICRISAT. I too am in love with it. Because, like me, sweet sorghum is a survivor: It grows well where others will not: dryland, wetland, infertile soil, waterlogged sites, barren soils – and these describe the poor farmers’ fields and farms. In the Philippines, you see basketball courts everywhere. Since corporate players are paid millions to play, I say basketball is a rich man’s choice of a poor boy’s game. And since corporations are now paying millions to play the game of climate crop putting up ethanol distilleries, I call sweet sorghum ‘a rich man’s choice of a poor man’s crop’ (americanchronicle.com). For richer, not for poorer.

Entrepreneurship. I am very surprised (and very pleased) PCARRD has metamorphosed over the years from a technology promoter to an enterprise advocate. There is, for example, her initiative called Profitability Analysis (PA), each PA being a projected income statement and cash flow for a research-based enterprise. There are 10 enterprises ‘for sale’ in the list for 2007:
goat
native chicken
ornamental bamboo
bamboo shoot & pole
abaca fiber
buffalo milk
ilang-ilang flower & essential oil
organic cucumber
organic tomato
organic lettuce.
This is the enterprising PCARRD talking to you.

On October 3 this year, at the opening day of the annual Likha ng Central Luzon (LCL) at the SM Megatrade Hall in Mandaluyong City, with the theme ‘Natatanging Produkto, Ipagmalaki Sa Buong Mundo!’ (‘Unique Products, Show Off To The World!’), Guest of Honor Joey Concepcion told his LCL audience:

Despite political controversies, the peso and stock markets have been surging to record high levels. This shows that many of our people have matured and want to focus more on the economy rather than politics.

More to the point, he singled out the youth who, in the words of the national hero of the Philippines, Jose Rizal, are ‘la bella esperanza de la patria mia’ (‘fair hope of the fatherland’) (Jose Arcilla SJ, ateneo.edu). Joey told the LCL crowd:

We are scheduled to give out awards to 11 successful entrepreneurs in Pampanga, in the hope that they become role models for the young students from public high schools to emulate.

Joey’s PCE is targeting the public high schools, providing young students with books, audio-visual and other materials, orienting them and urging them to become young entrepreneurs.

Along with Joey, I’m thinking of the youth being entrepreneurs growing or causing the growth of sweet sorghum on the drylands of the Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

I’m also thinking of the Philippine educational system at the tertiary level offering not only degree-oriented courses but a choice of enterprise-oriented courses. That would be a revolution in education in the Philippines, in Asia, perhaps in the world. The schools too must be taught to become entrepreneurs and give rise to the new entrepreneurial class in the Philippines coming from the youth. So that they don’t have to spend all their waking hours playing their own games, oblivious of what’s happening around them. You can never tell if one of the boys playing basketball will become your favorite entrepreneur.

Joey’s speech at PCARRD’s 35th anniversary yesterday was ‘from the heart’ as the emcee said; it was worth the hour’s wait. These are bites & pieces from my notes, longhand (what I can read of it – he spoke fervently and fast):

We want you to believe it can be done.
We are now the #1 ice cream. (He pushed RFM’s Selecta up, up, up.)
I failed in Grade 3; I’m glad my parents didn’t belt me.
Creativity is very important; not all of us have it. If you have it, you should use it wisely.
We are not a basket case; the Philippines is going to make it.
The country’s future is great.
Not politics but poverty is the greatest problem.
What we need to do is change our mindset.
I would like to sell the spirit of hope. There is hope.
I am here to encourage you to believe in your country.

And I write here to encourage you to go and do likewise! So, I invite all the young boys to the 4 Es Club today, and all the young girls. They must care for the environment; they must be serious in their education. While they must become entrepreneurs, I must remind them what Joey Concepcion said yesterday: ‘Before you can become an entrepreneur, you must believe first in your country.’

And yes, our national hero Jose Rizal never stopped believing in his country, my country, right to the end – I have studied more than 30 English translations in my collection, and I know only my ABC translation reveals Rizal’s message of love of country, ‘Adios, Beloved Country’ (2006 September, adiosfarewellgoodbye.blogspot.com). Our hero offered his life in the very first stanza of his ultimate poem, the very Spanish ‘Adios, Patria Adorada’ – the intelligent title, I say, not ‘Mi Ultimo Adios,’ ‘My Last Farewell’ – with love, to whom it may concern:

Adios, beloved country, EarthLove of the Sun,
Pearl of the Sea Orient, Eden in ruins bad!
Glad am I to give my life shrunk and forsaken;
And were it more radiant, more fresh, more floral then
Would for you give I still, still I give for your good.

No English translator before but I have noticed this:
Tambien por ti la diera, la diera por tu bien.
‘Would for you give I still, still I give for your good.’
Great love distilled in a great line, artfully & powerfully iterated, the first part a mirror image of the other. Love expressed achingly sweet, twice. Noble love, noble line.

He was speaking to the youth, he was speaking to all of love of country. And then out of hate the Spaniards executed him. The barbarians.

We are not barbarians. Love covers a multitude of sins. Love the Earth, love the Environment, love Education, love Entrepreneurship – ultimately, we must all first of all put a premium to that ball of life we call Earth. You break it, you pay for it!

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This entry was posted on Sunday, November 11th, 2007 at 10:41 am and is filed under creative photography, creative thinking, creative writing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.