BPI Foundation calls for cohesive strategy to strengthen social entrepreneurship

BPI Foundation, the social development arm of BPI, has urged stakeholders from the public and private sectors to help create a more cohesive strategy and public policy through a National Social Enterprise Development Roadmap that will strengthen social entrepreneurship (SE) in the country.

“While we believe that there is still so much work to be done and more opportunities remain untapped by our social entrepreneurs, this Roadmap is a good start towards a more inclusive and sustainable recovery for the SE sector,” said BPI Foundation Executive Director Owen Cammayo.

During the 2021 Philippine Social Entrepreneurship Summit, BPI Foundation, together with its implementing partner, Bayan Academy, presented the National Social Enterprise Development Roadmap, which outlines potential policy recommendations when it comes to supporting the development of SEs nationwide.

Aptly themed “Sama-Sama sa Negosyo, Sama-Sama sa Pag-Angat (Together in Business, Together in Progress), the two-day virtual conference aimed to provide a collaborative space to map out a strategy that will benefit all stakeholders concerned.

Some of the recommendations gathered from SE stakeholders include the idea of having a governing body to implement the Roadmap, as well as establishing a national association of social entrepreneurship, and integrating the SE subject in Entrepreneurship and Business Management Courses.

As for corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises, there are recommendations to include the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples as sector champion. This will enable the inclusion of SEs that are part of social and cultural groups into the Roadmap to provide more sustainable and livelihood opportunities to communities across the country.

Bayan Academy's Program Director Carlo Sagun presents the National SE Roadmap, which aims to enable all social enterprise stakeholders to collaborate more effectively.

For Professor Jay Bernardo, Chairman and President of Bayan Academy, the pioneering social enterprise incubator, this would also help the economy bounce back from the effects of the pandemic. “Definitely social enterprises have a big role to play here because they are more in touch with the communities and would be able to provide a lot of jobs and opportunities for different groups,” he explained.

The non-government organizations, for their part, are urging the government to provide incentives for Filipino social enterprises to stimulate inclusive growth for the sector.

Cammayo said: “We strongly believe that public policy, strategic collaborations, and effective vision setting will support, strengthen, and further this budding sector.”

The Philippine Social Entrepreneurship Summit gathered over 1,200 social entrepreneurs and representatives from various development sectors such as cooperatives, development organizations, and education sectors, as well as government and corporate social responsibility organizations across the Philippines.