Last Oct. 17, we had an important gathering in Go Negosyo. Together with the British Embassy, we launched the Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) program at the residence of the newly appointed British Ambassador Asif Ahmad. He and his team, led by deputy head of mission Trevor Lewis and program manager Clarisse Fogg, warmly welcomed over 200 entrepreneurs that evening.

We presented the lineup of activities for our program for GEW Philippines. To name a few, we will be having the Entrepreneurial Creativity and Innovation Summit on Nov. 19, the Inclusive Growth (Social Entrepreneurship) Forum on Nov. 20, the PLDT SME Nation Bossing Awards on Nov. 21, the OFW and Families Summit (with the Villar Foundation) on Nov. 22, followed by university fora in four areas the following week. The British Embassy invited Go Negosyo to become its official partner for the GEW, which is part of their Bilateral Programme.

I am also grateful to Autohub’s Willy Tee Ten, the man behind the Rolls-Royce, Mini Cooper franchise in the country, who helped us organize the gathering that evening. What was evident that night was the high-spirited exchange of views and ideas and the commitment shown by those present in supporting our forthcoming activities at Go Negosyo and GEW.

Of course, our institutional partners from PLDT SME Nation, Smart, BPI Family Ka-Negosyo, the Villar Foundation, Association of Filipino Franchisers Inc (AFFI) and the Philippine Franchising Association (PFA) were also present that night.