Saturday, June 21, 2008 8 entrepreneurs win awards
EIGHT Cebuano micro-entrepreneurs were recognized by an entrepreneurship advocacy group for proving that anybody can become successful in starting their own businesses.
Ramon Lopez, executive director of the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship (PCE), said the Go Negosyo team did not look at the sales of the micro-entrepreneurs to determine who the Most Inspiring Cebuano Micro-entrepreneurs for the year were.
“We make sure they serve as very good role models,” Lopez said, adding that the search will also bring out the inspiring stories of the eight micro-entrepreneurs to encourage people to go into business.
“They all have led a difficult life and now have proven themselves to have overcome the hurdles,” he added.
The awarding was one of the highlights of the second Go Negosyo Caravan in Cebu in line with the activities of the Cebu Business Month.
One of the awardees, Rey Calooy, said he lauded the efforts of Go Negosyo in recognizing micro-entrepreneurs since they comprise the biggest part of the business industry.
Recognition
Calooy, in an interview with Sun Star Cebu yesterday, said that out of the 780,000 registered businesses in the country, 500,000 are considered to be under the micro-enterprise category.
Large companies, Ca-looy said, only total around 5,000.
He also said he started engaging into a business while he was still a student, that is why he is happy to be recognized and to be considered as an inspiration to students who are also planning to go into business.
Calooy, as a student, started out selling bookmarks from used cartons and greetings cards out of recycled papers.
Then and now
Calooy now manages RNC Marketing Philippines that produces products like ginger tea, squash noodles and laundry soap from used oil.
He is also the president of the Filipino Cebuano Business Club (FCBC), a group composed of micro, small and medium entrepreneurs he helped form last March.
Aside from Calooy, the other awardees were Imelda Alinsonorin, who owns a general merchandise store and is a live cull chicken dealer; Lady Canonigo, who is into egg trading and fish vending; hog-raiser and merchandise store proprietor Cecilia Cañalita; vegetable farmer and trader Saturnina Diez; owner of Nicole’s Delight bakery Darliza Perez; Cherry Yack Sr. of Cherrie’s Cassava and Banana Cake and Heidi Ragas, who also owns another bakery. (DME)
