Andres is new global head of Entrepreneurs' Organization

MANILA, Philippines — Rosemarie “Bubu” Andres, co-founder of local confectionary company Candy Corner, plans to bring the “bayanihan spirit” to The Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO), a global business network of over 13,000 leading entrepreneurs in 53 countries.

“The spirit of EO is about helping each other, and not necessarily on matters involving your business”, said Andres, who was elected as global chairperson of EO last month.

“We will tear down walls and become a one truly borderless organization,” she said.

The Philippine chapter is already one of the biggest in EO. Still, only 155 of the hundreds of thousands of Filipino entrepreneurs are members of the organization and of that number only a dozen are from the Visayas and Mindanao.

Andres is hopeful the Philippine chapter, under new president Jeffrey Cobankiat, could extend its reach and get more businessmen into their fold.

The 2014 report of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor indicated that among countries in Southeast Asia, the Philippines had the strongest entrepreneurial intentions and perceived capabilities and opportunities.

Entrepreneurship is generally considered a good career choice, and Filipinos have the lowest fear of failure compared to others in the region, the report said.