Cobonpue to inspire budding entrepreneurs

CEBU, Philippines - Maximizing the full potential of the creative sector as one of the new economic growth, the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) will conduct its 2nd Cebu Creative Industries Summit on June 14 at SM City Cinema One, featuring global Cebuano and top furniture designer Kenneth Cobonpue as speaker.

The Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) will conduct the 2nd Cebu Creative Industries Summit and NGO Accreditation One-Stop-Shop and Advocacy Matching at SM City Cinema One on June 14 as one of the highlights of the Cebu Business Month 2013.

In his presentation called “Inspire | Desire,” Cobonpue will share his journey from inspiration to creating objects of desire. He shall also entertain questions from the audience during an open forum scheduled after his talk.

The 44-year-old Industrial Design graduate from the Pratt Institute in New York personally oversees the work of his team of 300 craftsmen in his well-organized and homey hectare-sized facilities in Cebu City.

Cobonpue is famous of his tried and tested tips such as creating something unique to make it in the global arena, starting out right through good branding and packaging and building a brand requires hard work, consistency and excellence.

“Maybe it’s not so difficult to have something unique here in the country but globally, you always have to look at the world as your market. And, as I would say, the world doesn’t need another chair. If I can’t make it different, there is no point. When you have something good, you should know how to present it and sell it to the world. You must never settle for mediocrity. In fact, our furniture here takes a year to design. That’s how long it takes (to build) quality.  There are things here that were designed 12-15 years ago and are still selling in the market,” he stated in a latest press statement.

Even outside formal discussions, Cobonpue offers informal and friendly mentorship to budding Cebuano entrepreneurs and readily shares what he thinks are the basic formula for global success.

He is happy and confident to see more Cebuano and Filipino brands become world-class.

Meanwhile, Creative Industries and Advocacy Committee Chair Mary Anne Alcordo-Solomon said that the summit is designed to be a venue for an exchange of creative and innovative techniques for business growth and global competitiveness.

She added that it shall serve as a platform for industry stakeholders to promote the sector as a wise strategy to further boost the economy.

CCCI president Lito Maderazo, on the other hand, said that the untapped potential of the creative industries to generate increasing employment and enhanced skills should also be recognized.

The creative industries sector is considered by the chamber as one of the fastest-growing priority sectors and economic pillars of the local economy that should be sustained along with tourism, information and communications technology and business process outsourcing (ICT-BPO), and entrepreneurship.

The chamber currently celebrates this year’s Cebu Business Month with the theme Experience Cebu’s Creative Industries, ICT and BPO, Tourism and Entrepreneurship towards Powering Up for Global Business (Excite Cebu). /JOB (FREEMAN)