One of the guiding questions whenever my team interviews an entrepreneur for our television show is: why is it important to promote entrepreneurship? And from every entrepreneur we have interviewed, we heard different answers. However, it will always lead to poverty alleviation. That is what we in the Go Negosyo community and the many entrepreneurs we have talked to believe in. That sometime in the future, when everyone grabs their opportunities to become enterprising, there will be less Filipinos who will cry for help and wait for the government to support them.

We will see a brighter future for the country when we have more entrepreneurs who are active change-makers and innovators in the system. The promotion of entrepreneurial growth in our country is getting pervasive and that’s good. We want an entrepreneurial revolution and we are happy to see more and more institutions and organizations that are now proactive in this mission.

Like what I shared last week, we shall have on November, the Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW), which is a celebration all over the world in 140 countries that aims to help more people explore their potentials as self-starters and innovators. There will be 35,000 simultaneous events in these countries to promote entrepreneurship.

Go Negosyo is once again partnering with the British Embassy, led by Amb. Asif Ahmad, in bringing the GEW in our country. There will be a series of programs, fora and seminars for entrepreneurs and aspirants.

First on the list is our launch of the Southeast Asia Mobile Application Challenge which I mentioned in my previous column. The good thing here is that this is for techies and non-techies alike who have a creative idea for mobile application which can solve a current problem or any market gap.

We also have our Go Negosyo Building Enterprising Students for Tomorrow (BEST Program) which is for the outstanding students of universities who will undergo an exclusive one-year program with quarterly activities which will further enhance their character and competencies for their future endeavours. We will be formally launching this on Nov. 17 with 1,000 top students of the country.

We are partnering as well with PLDT SME Nation for their Bossing Awards which we have been doing for five years. Together with PLDT Bossings MVP Manny Pangilinan, Poly Nazareno, Eric Alberto and Kat Abelarde, Smart’s Doy Vea and other inspiring Bossings awardees like Hapee’s Cecilio Pedro and Penshoppe’s Bernie Liu, we shall deliberate soon on this year’s candidates who are leading innovative entrepreneurs in the country, known for their creativity, hard work and passion. In the last week of November, we will be recognizing the new batch of Bossings who can help ignite the entrepreneurial spirit of our nation.

Go Negosyo is also partnering for the fourth year with the Villar Foundation for the yearly OFW and Family summit which is dedicated to our kababayans working abroad and their families, for them to consider entrepreneurship as a way to make a good living and prepare for the time our OFW loved ones settle down in the country for good. The OFW Summit will provide various business opportunities and teach proper management and investment options for their hard-earned savings. They will be inspired with several entrepreneur-guests who will share how they started small and managed to grow their business into larger negosyos.

Speaking of entrepreneurs who started small, but are now on their way to success, we are launching yet another inspiring book this November. This book is as special as our first as this will feature the journey of 50 successful entrepreneurs who made a difference in their respective fields. These entrepreneurs dreamed big, but achieved bigger because they pursued their passion and made themselves better. This will once again inspire and encourage readers to embark on their entrepreneurial journey towards their own success.

We continue to publish the stories of entrepreneurs because we see it as an effective way of instilling the entrepreneurial mindset to our readers. Their stories, filled with challenges and triumphs, will become a source of continuous encouragement, advice and techniques on how to achieve goals and accomplish their dreams.

Go Negosyo, like many others, aims to inspire everyone to become enterprising and entrepreneurial. Along with our network of entrepreneurs, we will continue to become advocates of positive mindset and knowhow in entrepreneurship. Just like how Jonathan Ortmans of Global Entrepreneurship Week have said, “We must all aspire to be part of one global community of people ferreting out better ways of doing things and improving the lives of our citizens.”