The business of social entrepreneurship
March 30, 2007 | 12:00am
After a month-long period of brainstorming, trial and error, and a lot of hard work, our young partici-pants in the Teenpreneur Challenge can finally say that they have what it takes to be major players in the business world. These budding "teenpreneurs," under the guidance of their respective volunteer mentors (members of the Association of Filipino Franchisers and the Entrepreneurs School of Asia), have shown their worth as potential business people in the future with the culmination of the Teenpreneur Challenge, organized by the Entrepreneurs School of Asia (ESA) in cooperation with the Go Negosyo Movement.
The challenge for the participants was to improve the sustainability of the livelihood products of the Gawad Kalinga Bayan-Anihan Project in one month. This involved taking a GK livelihood product and performing an extensive "overhaul" of sorts to make it more market friendly. Joel Santos, co-founder of ESA and chairperson of the Teenpreneur Challenge, notes: "We gave the high schools students a crash course in basic entrepreneurial skills focusing on creativity, resourcefulness and innovativeness. Similar to how we train our ESA students, we provided the high school students with workshops and business games instead of plain lectures. This applied learning methodology is more effective for the youth of today."
The changes made to these products, if they work favorably towards the betterment of the community, will lead to more fruitful endeavors for the people living in that area. Tony Meloto of Gawad Kalinga adds this sentiment: "Today, what you are seeing is we are bringing a First World standard of excellence to the Gawad Kalinga communities. In the same manner that we are building First World homes for the poorest of the poor, we are now bringing First World entrepreneurial ideas, initiative and creativity to our countrymen."
The Teenpreneur Challenge concluded this month with the Tourism Negosyo Expo held at the SM Mall of Asia, a weekend-long bazaar held in the mall’s Music Hall. All the improved products were sold here, alongside other local products from around the country, as a true test of their marketability. The expo was important for the competition because this was where the improved products were tested in a real-life selling situation.
The Tourism Negosyo Expo also doubled in purpose as the venue for presenting the various awards to the different winners of the competition. For the Best Improved Product Category, 1st to Tabernacle of Faith Team A, 2nd to Xavier School, 3rd to San Beda College; for the Best Selling GK Product, 1st went to Xavier School, 2nd Tabernacle of Faith Team B, 3rd Tabernacle of Faith Team A. GK Special awards were given out as well, and these went out to: Tabernacle of Faith Team B which received the "Bayanihan Award"; St. Paul’s College QC Team B which received the "Maaasahan Award"; and Elizabeth Seton School which received the Splash "Galing ng Pinoy" Award.
But more than that, participants recognized the Teenpreneur Challenge as more than just a competition. There are the winners, of course, but what the students really discovered was how they can positively affect more people with their entrepreneurial skills. It is these extra lessons that make endeavors such as the Teenpreneur Challenge valuable. "ESA’s advocacy is social entrepreneurship. We want to create entrepreneurs who are not profit-oriented, but want to help society. Students not only get the entrepreneurial tools they will need to establish a business, but now know how to use those skills to help out others," says Vivienne Tan, Chairperson of ESA and Founding Trustee of the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship
The importance of being the new and upcoming social entrepreneurs was instilled in the participants, and it shows in their recollections of the Teenpreneur Challenge. "Joining Teenpreneur was not about winning. It was actually not that important whether we won or not. What was important was we are able to help Mang Roberto of our GK community," says Cheska Singco of Philippine Science High School. Such responses can’t help but make one feel like some really good things are a-brewing with the youth of today.
What started out as a "crash course" in entrepreneurship for the participating students resulted in a clearer and more concrete experience of living in this world and affecting it positively.
The Entrepreneurs School of Asia was established in 1999 by Vivienne Tan and Joel Santos and is Asia’s first college focused entirely on entrepreneurship education and research. It offers bachelor degrees in entrepreneurship and business administration. ESA has a campus in the Philippines and in China. For more information please call (02) 638-1188 or log on to www.entrepreneur.edu.ph.
E-mail me at enricomiguelsubido@yahoo.com.
The challenge for the participants was to improve the sustainability of the livelihood products of the Gawad Kalinga Bayan-Anihan Project in one month. This involved taking a GK livelihood product and performing an extensive "overhaul" of sorts to make it more market friendly. Joel Santos, co-founder of ESA and chairperson of the Teenpreneur Challenge, notes: "We gave the high schools students a crash course in basic entrepreneurial skills focusing on creativity, resourcefulness and innovativeness. Similar to how we train our ESA students, we provided the high school students with workshops and business games instead of plain lectures. This applied learning methodology is more effective for the youth of today."
The changes made to these products, if they work favorably towards the betterment of the community, will lead to more fruitful endeavors for the people living in that area. Tony Meloto of Gawad Kalinga adds this sentiment: "Today, what you are seeing is we are bringing a First World standard of excellence to the Gawad Kalinga communities. In the same manner that we are building First World homes for the poorest of the poor, we are now bringing First World entrepreneurial ideas, initiative and creativity to our countrymen."
The Teenpreneur Challenge concluded this month with the Tourism Negosyo Expo held at the SM Mall of Asia, a weekend-long bazaar held in the mall’s Music Hall. All the improved products were sold here, alongside other local products from around the country, as a true test of their marketability. The expo was important for the competition because this was where the improved products were tested in a real-life selling situation.
The Tourism Negosyo Expo also doubled in purpose as the venue for presenting the various awards to the different winners of the competition. For the Best Improved Product Category, 1st to Tabernacle of Faith Team A, 2nd to Xavier School, 3rd to San Beda College; for the Best Selling GK Product, 1st went to Xavier School, 2nd Tabernacle of Faith Team B, 3rd Tabernacle of Faith Team A. GK Special awards were given out as well, and these went out to: Tabernacle of Faith Team B which received the "Bayanihan Award"; St. Paul’s College QC Team B which received the "Maaasahan Award"; and Elizabeth Seton School which received the Splash "Galing ng Pinoy" Award.
But more than that, participants recognized the Teenpreneur Challenge as more than just a competition. There are the winners, of course, but what the students really discovered was how they can positively affect more people with their entrepreneurial skills. It is these extra lessons that make endeavors such as the Teenpreneur Challenge valuable. "ESA’s advocacy is social entrepreneurship. We want to create entrepreneurs who are not profit-oriented, but want to help society. Students not only get the entrepreneurial tools they will need to establish a business, but now know how to use those skills to help out others," says Vivienne Tan, Chairperson of ESA and Founding Trustee of the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship
The importance of being the new and upcoming social entrepreneurs was instilled in the participants, and it shows in their recollections of the Teenpreneur Challenge. "Joining Teenpreneur was not about winning. It was actually not that important whether we won or not. What was important was we are able to help Mang Roberto of our GK community," says Cheska Singco of Philippine Science High School. Such responses can’t help but make one feel like some really good things are a-brewing with the youth of today.
What started out as a "crash course" in entrepreneurship for the participating students resulted in a clearer and more concrete experience of living in this world and affecting it positively.
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