THE Cebu Business Months (CBM) 2023 is seeking to help more small and medium enterprises (SMEs) grow as it launches its series of activities for June to December.
The economic situation has allowed many industries to bounce back from the challenges of the past years, John Paul Chiongbian, this year’s CBM overall chairperson and chief executive officer (CEO) of Sugbo Mercado Food Bazaar Inc., told SunStar Cebu on the sidelines of the CBM media conference on Friday, May 26, 2023.
And together with this bouncing back is also the flourishing of SMEs in various industries.
“Our SMEs are really the backbone of our economy. They are back, and now we want to sustain them. How do we reinvent ourselves? We have to reinvent ourselves in this world right now. And that is the CBM now,” he said.
The CBM 2023 anchors its activities on the theme, “Cebu ta bai: Moving forward. Shaping the future,” which hopes to gather businesses to discuss digitalization, food security, and adaptation to economic times.
Four focus sectors including tourism, entrepreneurship, technology and creative entertainment will hold various summits, expos and conventions starting with the Grand Opening Salvo and the Cebu Food and Wine Festival on June 2 to 27 every weekend.
The Tourism Summit will be held on July 20 to 21 with a focus on regional development through inspiring narratives, innovative tourism initiatives, and unique tours that have yet to be offered in the market.
Cathleen “Kate” Anzani, the CBM Tourism chairperson and president of the Anzani International Group, said there is a need for the tourism sector to focus on product development and regional development through inspiring narratives, innovative tourism initiatives, and unique tours that have yet to be offered in the market.
Entrepreneurship Committee chairperson Gretchen Choa, who is also vice president of The Camden Trading Corp., said the Entrepreneur’s Summit on Aug. 30 to Sept. 1 will highlight the development and growth of agribusiness.
The summit will be attended by businessmen, stakeholders and government agencies to address the pressing concerns in agribusiness.
April Ong Vaño, the technology committee co-chairperson and founder of Collabox Henyo Global Innovations Inc., said artificial intelligence is a major milestone in all industries that needs to be seriously considered.
With various tech companies starting in Cebu, there is a growing industry for technological integration to serve other industries’ needs, which is why the Technology Summit will be held from Aug. 17 to 19.
Creative Entertainment chairman Lawrence Panganiban, who is also chairman of Enigma Kai, said Cebu is ripe to be a new center for the entertainment industry.
“Our focus is inspiring local artists and creatives to pursue their passions and careers to show the business community that entertainment is a lucrative and investable business,” said Panganiban.
Multiple activities will be held for the creative entertainment industry such as the Creative Business Talk on Sept. 13, Entertainment Expo on Oct. 20 to 22, Technology Knowledge Exchange (Anime) in Cebu on Oct. 21 and Baicon on Oct. 28.
Panganiban said this year’s CBM activities aim for businesses to be able to help each other reinvent themselves to survive unpredictable times.
The CBM started as Cebu Business Day and later became Cebu Business Week. In 1996, President Fidel Ramos signed Presidential Proclamation 748 declaring the whole month of June as Cebu Business Month. In 2020, CBM expanded the event into a year-long celebration.