PH SMEs win tickets to int’l marketplace

Fighting poverty through a profitable and sustainable way is BiD’s strategy to encourage more entrepreneurs to look at social responsibility as an integral part of business success.

BiD Challenge is an international business plan competition that promotes poverty reduction through enterprise development. It started in the Netherlands in 2004; after three years, BiD Challenge was adapted locally and launched in partnership with the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP).

PBSP believes that small, medium, and microenterprises should have a venue where potential investments may be acquired for the expansion and growth of social enterprise.

Like Habi Footwear, Pineapple Fiber Production of Batas MPC by Sheilah Vergara will also represent the Philippines in the BiD Challenge International Marketplace this coming November where they will showcase their business ideas together with the other entries across the globe.

Vergara’s SME produces fiber from leftover pineapple leaves, thereby helping the unemployed women and youth in Silang, Cavite.

The top 10 BiD winners are awarded a grant of PhP 100,000 each by Citibank. They are: Habi Footwear: Shoes That Care by Albert Go; Pineapple Fiber Production of Batas MPC by Sheilah Vergara (Accenture Skills to Succeed Awardee); Donnabelle Coconut Sugar and Syrup by Benjamin Lao; Batangueno’s Best Prime Ground Roasted Coffee with Pandan Extract by Rosauro Luntayao; Haws Blend Milking Profit from Carabao by Samantha Marie Libunao; Deo’s AquaVermiPonics by Deogracias Magbal, Jr. (Shell Green Enterprise Awardee); Best Chevon by Mary Joy Quisaot; Production of Prio-Bio Inoculums for Animals and Fish by Nemesio Diamante (FSSI Triple Bottom line Awardee); Bamsnacks by Vina Domingo-Roy (FSSI Triple Bottom line Awardee); and T’nalak of the T’bolis by Yasmin Gatal Yashimoto.