It’s been a great start to Global Entrepreneur Week, which began with a launch with the British Ambassador at his residence. This led to a series of activities like the Creativity and Innovation Summit last Tuesday, which was attended by close to 7,000 aspiring entrepreneurs and almost 70 schools and colleges.

Last Thursday, PLDT SME Nation and GoNegosyo hosted the annual PLDT Bossing Awards night. It’s on its fifth year now and it was an elegant affair, but this year’s theme was also a tribute to the Filipino bayanihan spirit as it generated support to help the victims of Typhoon Yolanda.

P1,000 was donated on behalf of each participant and they were able to raise over P3.1 million that night. It was a very good cause to help rebuild the homes and livelihood of the victims in Visayas. Thanks go to the initiative of our partner, the PLDT Group led by its chairman, Manny Pangilinan, joined by Eric Alberto, Kat Luna-Abelarde, Doy Vea and our friends from the PLDT family. Also present were Noel Lorenzana, Rene “Butch” Meily, and Gabby Cui.

The goal of GoNegosyo and PLDT in launching the Bossing search was to really look for the inspiring entrepreneurs out there who really can be role models — the heroes that we want our youth to look up to, idolize, and maybe one day become. I guess the role of Bossing is really to come out of his shell and share his stories of his success, as well as mentor aspiring entrepreneurs.

Former Grand Bossings Cecilio Pedro of Lamoiyan Corporation (2012) and Bernie Liu of Penshoppe (2013) also attended the event, together with other Bossing Awardees and Go Negosyo entrepreneurs.

The night was filled with inspiration from the seven outstanding Bossing awardees’ success stories. Among them were Catherine Dizon-Posas (Dizon Farms), Dr. Mary O. Chan (Ideal Vision Center Inc.), Michael H. Deakin (Lifeline Ambulance Rescue Inc.), Genevieve Ledesma-Tan (Southville International School and Colleges), Felix and his son Prudencio Garcia (Mekeni Food Corporation), Glenn Yu (Seaoil Philippines), and Ambassador Alfredo Yao (Zest-O Corporation).

Among the seven awardees, Zest-O chairman Alfredo Yao was hailed as MVP Grand Bossing of the year, for he typifies what a real business bossing is: passionate about his work, skillful, creative, innovative, uses technology in business and most of all has the right attitude and character that transformed adversities in his life into opportunities and eventual success.

“Poverty should not be a hindrance for you to be successful,” Yao said, as he narrated his story of struggle and how he managed to beat the odds and achieve his stature.

The Bossings serve as inspiration to other SME entrepreneurs aspiring to achieve greater heights with their business. Together with Go Negosyo and PLDT SME Nation, they are doing their part to help build an entrepreneurial nation and a country of more prosperous Filipinos.