As October comes to a close, we are only a few days away from the biggest state and business leaders event of the year – the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (ABIS) 2017. For the past 12 years of Go Negosyo, we have hosted a number of conferences and summits with more than 10,000 guests and participants, but ABIS2017 is the most challenging summit we have ever organized. With less than two weeks to go, we are working our best to bring you a successful conference to cap off the ASEAN chairmanship of the Philippines.

For the past few months since I assumed the chairmanship of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council, we have generated a clear roadmap on achieving prosperity for all. This means that we will leave no ASEAN nation behind. This is why the ASEAN BAC’s theme for this year is, “Partnering for Change, Prosperity for All,” because we believe we must all work together to bring success to one another.

To help pursue this goal, we have formulated the framework of 3Ms: Mentorship, money and market which we believe will enable our micro, small, and medium enterprises scale up.

Of the three M’s, mentorship is the closest to our heart. We have been mentoring micro and small entrepreneurs for the past years and last year, we formalized the mentorship through our partnership program with the Department of Trade and Industry called Kapatid Mentor ME. Eventually, we adapted this to the agriculture sector in partnership with the Department of Agriculture.

I personally believe that with proper guidance and mentorship MSMEs will grow and prosper. This is why on Nov. 12, we at the ASEAN BAC will launch the biggest private-sector led mentorship network called AMEN – ASEAN Mentorship for Entrepreneurs Network, a pool of mentors across ASEAN countries helping MSMEs. We will recognize the “pioneer mentors” from the 10 ASEAN countries led by the Philippines’ 50 pioneer mentors. I was informed by my fellow council members that they will send mentors as well to be part of this mission. We are all excited to see what this program can do for our micro entrepreneurs in the region.

Going back to the program, we have invited a number of state leaders from ASEAN countries and ASEAN-dialogue partners. Their ambassadors have been nothing but supportive of our invitations and we appreciate the help they are extending to bring their leaders to our event. We are pleased to announce that Myanmar’s State Counsellor and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs Aung San Suu Kyi has confirmed her participation to ABIS2017. Hopefully soon, we can announce the confirmation of most of the invited leaders.

For the three-day summit, world leaders and business champions will share their vision and pathway towards shared prosperity. The summit will feature forums on infrastructure development, women economic power and human capital development, right money and open markets, entrepreneurship in a digital economy and other topics that will address the priority concerns of the business community.

The forum on infrastructure development will feature Enrique Razon of International Container Terminal Services Inc., Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala of Ayala Corp., Tony Fernandes of AirAsia, Dr. Junichi Yamada of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and Diwakar Gupta of the Asian Development Bank.

We are also focusing on the women through the discussion on women economic power led by fellow ASEAN BAC member Teresita Sy-Coson of SM Investments, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar of Economic and Social Commission of Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo of Hyundai Asia Resources Inc., and ASEAN Business Award 2017 Winner Sirina Sisombat-Hervy of Sinouk Coffee.

On money, Gov. Nestor Espenilla of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Anthony Tomas of Mynt, Lito Villanueva of FINTQ, and Li Yong of United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) will share their insights for the right money opportunities for our MSMEs.

Market panelists includes Tan Sri Rebecca Fatima Sta. Maria of Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia, Alexander Feldman of US-ASEAN Business Council, Robbie Antonio of Revolution Precrafted, David Foote of Zennya, and Chung Eui-Sun of Hyundai Motor Group will discuss ways to link MSMEs to a more competitive and interconnected market opportunities.

For the 3rd day of the summit, Vice President Leni Robredo will open the session with a special message.

Professor Hidetoshi Nishimura of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), Mario Pezzini of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and Prof. Yumiko Murakami of OECD will share videos on ASEAN’s 50th year and the economic outlook for ASEAN.

Part of the agenda is the discussion of Shared Economy which will feature Dr. Robert Yap of ASEAN BAC Singapore and YCH Group, Mario Pezzini of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Chan Park of Uber Asia Pacific, and Robin Kwok of Airbnb.

Digital economy is one of the hot topics in ASEAN which will also be the focus of the discussion led by Manny Pangilinan of the PLDT Group, Nick Nash of SEA Group, Dr. Yuri Sato of Japan External Trade Organization, Goh Peng Ooi of Silverlake Axis Limited, and Richard Eldrige of Lenddo.

Former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will lead the discussion on On to ASEAN 100 which will delve into the ASEAN’s position for growth and leadership for the next 50 years. We have invited Donald Tusk of the European Council, Antonio Guterres of the United Nations and Le Loung Minh of ASEAN to be part of the forum as well.

We have a great lineup of state and business leaders for ABIS2017. And we look forward to discussing what needs to be done in order to bring prosperity for all across the region. After all, we are all aiming to lift the lives of our citizens and create inclusive growth.