Dreamers, Doers, Risk-Takers-4: Iskolar ng Bayan Gives Back, the Enterprising Way

Posted on August 26, 2008
Filed Under Entrepreneurs, Jobs, LIFE, Parenting and Family | Viewed 339 times

At 4pm today, 26 August 2008, the book “Dreamers, Doers, Risktakers – 4: Iskolar ng Bayan Gives Back, the Enterprising Way”, a joint project of the Small Enterprises Research and Development Foundation (SERDEF) Inc. and the UP Institute for Small-Scale Industries (UP ISSI) will be launched at UP ISSI. The book is the fourth and final volume in a series that began during the Philippine centennial year in 1998 and culminates, appropriately, on UP’s centennial this year. Friend Annamanila has been an active mover behind this venture.

The book showcases the stories of 25 UP alumni, turned entrepreneurs—an inspiring read, which also functions as a kind of how-to guidebook for aspiring entrepreneurs. It chronicles the start-up years of these iskolar-turned-entreprenyor ng bayan and takes a detailed look at their problem-solving and growth strategies, management style and business philosophy, entrepreneurial competencies, and ways of managing information and sourcing assistance.

“By putting up job-creating, income-generating, sometimes dollar-producing enterprises, these UP-bred entrepreneurs implicitly help build the nation and community. In other words, by simply being in business, they are already doing enough in terms of ‘giving back,’” Ruperto P. Alonzo, director of UP ISSI and Paterno V. Viloria, president of SERDEF say in the Foreword.

The book includes the stories of:

Loida Nicolas Lewis who graduated with a law degree in UP Diliman in 1967, an accomplished lawyer in the US, and head of the European food conglomerate of TLC Beatrice International

The French Baker’s Johnlu Koa is a BS Business Administration graduate of UP Diliman in 1979, completing his MBA in the same campus in 1984.

Figaro Coffee Company’s Pacita Juan graduated with BS Hotel and Restaurant Administration degree from UP Diliman in 1976. She spearheaded a tripartite effort by local government, academe and agricultural sector to promote Barako coffee.

Four generations of Puyods—three of whom finished Agriculture, Agribusiness and Social Sciences degrees in UP—own and manage two agribusiness companies, Philippine Greenfarm Development Corporation and Philippine Fresh Fruits Corp., in Davao.

Ruby Catalan-Pornan, a BS Food Technology graduate of UP Visayas in 1990, who runs her own immigration and recruitment company.

Philip Cruz, who completed his MS in Fisheries in UP Visayas in 1988, who runs a diversified aquaculture business and has ventured into advanced herbal processing plants.

Philab’s Hector Navasero, who was a BS Agriculture graduate of UP Los Baños in 1958. He has led the revival and development of baseball in the Philippines. He spends P2 million a year of his own funds for training programs, clinics, travel sponsorships and the distribution of baseball equipment throughout the country.

Yolanda Villanueva-Ong, who graduated from UP Diliman in 1971 with a degree in mass communication, who put up the ad agency Campaigns & Grey in 1986, and several other advocacies.

Nazario Racoma, an agriculture graduate of UP Los Baños in 1968. Naz is my brother-in-law, so let me quote in full what Ces Rodriguez of the Philippine Daily Inquirer wrote about him:.

Naz was a government technocrat who opened Traffic Supplies and Construction Corp. in the early 1990s when he couldn’t get people to support plans to privatize subsidiaries of the Philippine National Construction Corp. “I wanted to demonstrate there’s money in the business, given that, at the time, there were still very few players in the industry,” he recounts. Today, the company’s assets are worth P30 million, without any bank loan.

Naz is only too happy to dole out the stuff he learned on his way to entrepreneurial success: Know your strength and capitalize on it; this is called distinctive competence.

Be a hands-on entrepreneur. Do not be a copycat, innovate. Study hard and work hard because being successful is not a game of chance. Know your competitors. Finally, he says, love God, love your family and treasure friendships.

Reference: Ces Rodriguez of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

Comments

3 Responses to “Dreamers, Doers, Risk-Takers-4: Iskolar ng Bayan Gives Back, the Enterprising Way”

ghee on August 26th, 2008 10:35 pm

cool!i think its really helpful!kudos to all the writers!

hello Dine

ghee
ghee on August 26th, 2008 10:36 pm

oh,im first?
Toe on August 28th, 2008 10:12 pm

Wow, these are great personalities. We could learn a lot from them! Oh, so that’s why Annamanila has been so busy lately.