The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Friday asked companies and entrepreneurs to participate in various programs lined for the Philippine hosting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit this year coinciding with the trade bloc’s 50th anniversary.
PCCI president George Barcelon said the government and private sector collaborated in developing and implementing programs that would be beneficial to businesses within Asean.
Barcelon, a member of the Asean Business Advisory Council, the country’s hosting this year would be very significant as Asean would mark its 50th year as a regional bloc.
Barcelon said the council adopted the theme ‘Partnering for Change, Prosperity for All’ to promote inclusive business and innovation-led growth in the region. “We therefore encourage our small entrepreneurs to seize and maximize every opportunity available,” he said.
One of the council’s deliverables is the Asean Mentorship for Entrepreneurs Network which aims to institutionalize mentorship programs, engaging its network of “big brothers” to help and handhold smaller companies to become globally competitive.
The Asean Business Advisory Council in its last meeting in Manila agreed to launch the mentorship network in November.
The network will see top CEOs mentoring small entrepreneurs in the five priority sectors that Asean BAC initially identified, including agri-food, retail, tourism, logistics and healthcare.
“This will be different and we hope that our entrepreneurs, big or small, get to participate in this endeavor,” Barcelon said.
PCCI is also pushing for the establishment of the roll-on roll-off network connecting Davao City and General Santos City in the Philippines to Bitung and Manado in Indonesia.
PCCI transport and logistics committee chair Henry Basillo said the new Ro-Ro route was expected to be launched on April 27, 2017 prior to Asean Leaders Meeting in Manila.
“The key ingredients to make this project a success are already in place. Our exporters from Mindanao are eagerly awaiting the Ro-Ro service so that trade formally starts with North Sulawesi,” he said.