The ASEAN Business Investment Summit (BIS) last week turned out quite well. We in the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN BAC) Philippines got several MOUs signed and we expect to loop in all of the ASEAN member-states in a circle of cooperation to help us on our way to a more prosperous ASEAN for all.

The MOUs that we signed bring together the ASEAN countries in areas that we all need to cooperate. They represent the core competencies of each country and identify where the others need help the most. We are talking about cooperation in essential commodities like rice and corn, profitable crops like rubber and palm oil, in technology-intensive industries like fruits and poultry production and a slew of agriculture technologies that will help all of us in the region become resilient against climate change and increase our farms’ productivity.

And even as we wound down the summit with an afternoon tea we hosted for Philippine First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, regional cooperation still dominated the conversation. Some of the biggest names in Indonesian business were there, as were top executives from all around Southeast Asia.

We had with us our good friend from ASEAN BAC Indonesia Arsjad Rasjid and Pandu Sjahrir, Universal Leaf CEO Winston Uy, W Group founder Rosalind Wee, GCash president Martha Sazon, Lionheart Farms CEO Christian Moeller, Angkas CEO George Royeca, ASEAN BAC’s George Barcelon, Yovel East president James Amparo, Women Business Council president Mylene Abiva, PT Andhika Lines president and KADIN vice chair Carmelita Hartoto, PT Unilever president Ira Noviarti, PT Pertamina president Nicke Widyawati, Sintesa Group president Shinta Kamdani, ASEAN Women Network chair Dyah Anita Prishapsari, Indofoods’ Axton Salim, Bank OCBC CEO Parwait Surjaudja, PLT Blue Bird president Noni Sri Ayati Purnomo, Ambassador Jayceelyn Quintana, Mageo founder Boots Garcia and former Ambassador Delia Albert.

After the socials, we sat down for an informal roundtable with ASEAN BAC Malaysia, and discussed how we move forward after the signing of our MOU with them last July. It was a very productive meeting; clearly the relaxed, friendly setting helped set the mood for a convivial exchange of ideas and insights.

I also had an opportunity to share my thoughts on regional cooperation when I participated in the Digital Powerhouse panel session during the ASEAN BIS. Here, I made it a point to emphasize the fact that four out of the ten countries in the ASEAN still have a fifth of their population living in poverty. And at the other end of the scale, we have two countries – Singapore and Brunei – whose poverty levels are so low (or nonexistent) that one would be hard-pressed to find data on it. In the middle are countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia, all powerhouses in agriculture productivity.

And here I find similarities in the big-brother model that we have in our programs at Go Negosyo. Some of us are born into advantages that make life easier and success in business more possible, simply by virtue of being born to the right family, at the right time and having access to the resources to make it in life. Some are not so fortunate, despite possessing the abilities and the will to improve their lives.

Our countries are located in the same region; we enjoy the same tropical climate and rich, fertile lands and share traits that make our peoples industrious and enterprising. Yet some countries are more prosperous while others struggle. There are a myriad of factors at play here and I am sure I am not qualified to discuss political economy to explain away why things are the way they are. I leave that to the experts. What I do know is that for many Filipinos, entrepreneurship has become a viable option for those who lacked advantages. For them, we have to give access to mentorship, money and markets, or the three M’s that are necessary for successful entrepreneurship. This we try to apply on a broader scale as we explore cooperation with our ASEAN neighbors.

I am confident that the meetings that we had during the ASEAN BIS will be the beginning of many more shared successes for our region, especially our MSMEs. We held a roundtable discussion with our counterparts in Indonesia, for example, wherein we talked about areas from which our two countries can benefit: specifically nanopreneurship, value-added mineral economic partnerships and agriculture MSME development. I hope we can continue these discussions moving forward.

Beyond the Philippines and Indonesia, we see this cooperation expanding to all our ASEAN neighbors. With hope, we can address our common problems through innovative solutions that we, as a region, can all actively participate in. The MOUs on agriculture and MSME development that we signed will be a platform of cooperation to transform us into a resilient, food secure and prosperous region.

But what excites me most about these MOUs are their potential application to sectors beyond agriculture. We have already seen how far cooperation and shared knowledge can take us, as seen in the ASEAN Mentorship for Entrepreneurs Network (AMEN), our legacy project from our ASEAN BAC chairmanship in 2017. Through this regional entrepreneurship mentoring program, we learned from one another and contributed to a shared pool of knowledge to help us achieve inclusive and shared prosperity through entrepreneurship. AMEN is so successful we recently had several graduates from all ten ASEAN member-states, and we are now preparing for Phase 3 of the project. AMEN is only the beginning. It is proof-positive that we lose nothing if we share our knowledge; in fact, we become better for it.

It’s been 57 years since ASEAN was founded. The signing of these MOUs on agriculture and MSME development will enhance collaboration with all ASEAN countries to help achieve greater prosperity for all. With hope, we will realize a true brotherhood that reflects the true essence of us holding hands: that we leave no one behind.