PA Joey Concepcion with Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol and Henry Lim Bon Liong of SL Agritech during the harvest festival in Talavera, Nueva Ecija.

When we launched the program Kapatid Angat Lahat back in August 2016, the idea was to call on our big brother companies to reach out to our small brothers, the MSMEs, and help them scale up. This system is what we call inclusive business models wherein MSMEs are linked to the value chains of bigger corporations. This initiative is part of the greater mission of Go Negosyo to help as many Filipinos as possible to scale up and be prosperous.

This then led to our programs anchored on the 3Ms – money, market and mentorship. We have developed successful programs on mentorship (Kapatid Mentor Me, Kapatid Agri Mentor Me and Mentor Me on Wheels), and we are also crafting our programs for money and market, which will provide better access and processes for our MSMEs while introducing digitalization.

But more than our efforts, I am proud to share that many of our big brother companies have applied programs for the benefit of our MSMEs. They, too, have created and improved their systems to help farmers and other micro and small entrepreneurs.

Recently, Go Negosyo sealed partnerships with Henry Lim Bon Liong of SL Agritech Corp., Feliciano Torres of Yazaki-Torres Manufacturing Inc., and Sabin Aboitiz of Aboitiz & Co. With the signing, we have strengthened our collaborations with these institutions to support MSMEs.

The three companies have extended their utmost support to our Go Negosyo programs. The owners of these companies are active advocates of Go Negosyo. I salute them as they have voluntarily given their time and effort to help our small entrepreneurs. Their drive and dedication to be of service to our local entrepreneurs are really commendable.

For more than three years, SL Agritech Corp. (SLAC) has been a staunch supporter of our programs and events, especially those that help farmers grow their agribusinesses across the country. SLAC has actively supported Go Negosyo’s Kapatid for Agri, a livelihood program that aims to train internally displaced persons and farmers from Marawi on the basics of food self-sufficiency, sustainable livelihood, and income generation through a profitable farm business model. Through mentorship, SL Agritech supports the program in providing technical and financial assistance to the farmers.

In addition, SLAC was the first to introduce its own rice variety called SL-8H to our farmers back in 2002. Through its technology, SLAC ensures the farmers of a market that will buy their harvest so that in turn, they can increase their profit.

On the other hand, Yazaki-Torres Manufacturing Inc.’s Agri-Tech Integrated Services Corp. (ATISCO) has been our partner since 2016. One of our initiatives is to teach farmers in Mindoro with technical knowhow in farming. Through mentorship, the farmers learn new information on the current developments on rice and other crops.

Aside from mentoring, ATISCO assures the farmers of a ready market for their harvest. With their contract, the farmers provide their harvest to the company. The surplus produce are also sold to canteens in Laguna and Batangas. In addition, they also have the freedom to sell their yield to other markets to expand their reach. I think this encourages more farmers to join ATISCO as they are not strict when it comes to selecting their markets. This gives them the freedom to sell their harvest wherever they want as long as they give what is being asked of them.

Aboitiz & Co. through its corporate social responsibility arm, Aboitiz Foundation Inc., has launched the Aboitiz Business Assistance and Guidance program. It links small entrepreneurs with banks and other microfinance institutions. In 2014, more than P14-million worth of loan packages were given to farmers. It also employs mentorship by providing capacity building and livelihood skills training to the members of farmer cooperatives.

One of our joint efforts with the Aboitiz Foundation is the agripreneurship project helping the displaced persons after the Marawi siege. Our project envisions a sustainable source of livelihood to the Maranaos by utilizing the available agriculture resources in their area. We are planning to build a 105-hectare corn plantation in Balo-i, Lanao del Norte. With this project, we provide the farmers with the market for their harvest, as well as a source of additional income for their small businesses.

Aboitiz also launched the Mahalin Pagkaing Atin program through Pilmico, its food and agribusiness subsidiary. Aboitiz enables backyard farmers with the technical knowledge and equipment assistance in raising their livestock as well as their crops.

These are only some of the numerous programs of our partners that are in line with the 3Ms model. Being one with them in providing an avenue for our MSMEs to scale up is a testament of our commitment to help our small entrepreneurs. By focusing on money, market, and mentorship, our programs from the private sector will complement the current administration’s vision for everyone to prosper in an inclusive economy.

For many start-up entrepreneurs, one of the challenges they face is how to be creative and be innovative in their business models since it is important for them to offer new products and services in order to be patronized by its target market.

On July 12, 6:30 p.m., one of Go Negosyo’s mentors, marketing guru Josiah Go, will launch another book, Entrepreneurship: Starting an Enterprise, which aims to help start-up entrepreneurs inculcate innovation in their business models. Having an Innovation Mindset, which is also written by Josiah’s wife Chiqui Escareal-Go, on the other hand, will teach its readers how to master the four houses of prosperity.

I recommend this book to all the Go Negosyantes.