Helping MSMEs achieve sustainability

Last week, I was part of a small group of businessmen invited to meet with UN  Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed. With us were representatives of international finance institutions. The objective of the gathering was to mobilize support and financing to accelerate progress on Sustainable Development Goals. It was a short meeting but a very productive one.

I was seated near Mdme. Mohammed and had the privilege to be the first to tell her about our advocacy at Go Negosyo. I explained how we have, for 19 years now, provided the platforms that give MSMEs the access to money, markets and mentorship necessary for them to succeed. Go Negosyo is a bridge for big-brother companies to help MSMEs. We try and put the spotlight on why Filipinos – especially the OFWs, women, youth and farmers – should be encouraged to pursue entrepreneurship. Women, especially, would be such a powerful force once they are given the support they need to put up businesses.

Joining us was Anna Marie Lagon, the CEO and founder of Bayo, a Filipino-owned MSME and one of the winners of the 2023 Go Negosyo Inspiring Filipina Entrepreneur Awards. Bayo is one of a handful of Philippine MSMEs which have embraced sustainability. It has committed to it through various practices, such as designing its products with minimum waste, using sustainable materials, carbon offsetting, repurposing waste materials, as well as working with women from local communities. To my knowledge, Bayo was one of the first MSMEs in their industry to integrate sustainability into their business.

During the meeting, she became quite emotional as she related her story. I later asked why. Was it because of business?

It turns out it wasn’t at all about business. Competition will always be there, she said, and challenges are part of business. She said her voice cracked because she recalled the visit Mdme. Mohammed paid Bayo, and the women weavers it employs, on the day before the meeting. “The weavers felt important because someone important paid attention to them,” she said. The women weavers who work at Bayo are part of the company’s mentorship program.

“Sustainability is in our brand DNA,” she said.

Anna and her husband Leo acquired Bayo in 2014; the brand itself has been around since 1996. Since taking charge of Bayo, Anna realigned the company’s vision to embrace sustainability. It was the first Filipino fashion retail brand to be invited and be a participant-member of the UN Global Compact, a UN pact to get businesses worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies. It has embarked on its own Journey to Zero initiative, to raise awareness and promote earth-friendly consumer practices by reducing textile waste. This is all quite impressive, and it is no wonder that she stood out and won Go Negosyo’s Inspiring Filipina Entrepreneurs Award in 2023.

But for a medium-sized Philippine company (or small-sized, according to UN metrics) to commit to these ideals can’t be easy, so this kind of validation from the UN touched her and her workers deeply. Anna knows that to make any significant impact, she needs to engage other companies and lead her peers in the industry to adopt initiatives like sustainability but has met, at best, a tepid response.

“I just felt so alone,” she said.

So what help does she need? She needs help to solve the bigger problem; this means reaching out for support from industry. Her priority program right now is to help address the waste problem of the garments industry and reduce the use of virgin material for clothes.

I assured her that it is in the interest of big-brother companies to help MSMEs like Bayo. I told her that prosperity for all is key to economic growth, and that big business and government believe that it is important that no one be left behind. Business depends on MSMEs to supply us with the raw materials to manufacture our goods, to keep our retail spaces interesting and to refresh the food industry, among other things. In agriculture, we cannot hope to achieve food security and economies of scale without the cooperation of the small agripreneurs who make up the country’s farmers, fisherfolk and livestock raisers.

True enough, the response from big-brother companies present during the UN meeting, like SM and Ayala Corp., was encouraging. It is also a good sign that the UN came all the way here to see for themselves how private sector is doing its part in sustainability and to show support to companies like Bayo. Hopefully, there will be pathways for more companies to adopt sustainable practices.

As I listened to Mdme. Mohammed, I gleaned that the UN touched on the three pillars which are important to MSME success: money, markets and mentorship. Viewed in the context of sustainable growth, these three pillars are also important: we have to incentivize investments in sustainable growth, there has to be a marketplace to support companies that espouse sustainability and there has to be mentorship in how companies can follow sustainable practices and still turn a profit. As Bayo has proven, it can be done, even by an MSME. And as the private sector and the UN attested during the meeting, we are all here to help MSMEs through their challenges and make them successful.

As we continue to champion initiatives that prioritize sustainability, collaboration and inclusivity, we can empower more entrepreneurs to embrace this vital shift. The support from larger corporations and organizations like the UN is crucial in this endeavor, reinforcing the idea that together, we can build a more sustainable future for all.