In terms of economic stability and growth, the governments worldwide recognize the role of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). SMEs are essential for the economic stability of a country, and they act like a cushion to economic shocks. It has been proven in giant countries such as the USA, and even in the continent of Europe. Moreover, SMEs greatly contribute to the employment, new job creation, social cohesion and development which are especially important in developing countries like the Philippines.
What does it take for an entrepreneur to make it big in the business? Apparently, it’s not just about having adequate capital inflows. The SME’s here in the Philippines faced several challenges when it comes to growth and productivity. They went through ups and downs, and each of them has their own fair share of trials and success but they all achieved success by working with public communities. Things were definitely not a smooth sail, so their hard work deserves recognition.
2016 marks the sixth year of the prestigious search for the most accomplished SME owners in the Philippines. Since 2009, the MVP Bossing Awards have awarded over 70 business leaders, celebrating each one’s contribution to nation building. Recognizing that business leaders inspire other business leaders to dream big, empowering them to achieve their own business goals, these stories of success ripple out to touch more lives in a positive way. PLDT SME Nation believes that the investment in the MVP Bossing Awards each year impacts economic development in that celebrating successful leaders inspires more and more Filipinos to get into a business, and more entrepreneurs to up their game.
Together with the community of Bossings, PLDT SME Nation works towards its steadfast goal of igniting the spirit of entrepreneurship throughout the country.
This year, the Awards Program underscores the critical role that entrepreneurs play in bringing economic prosperity through more through inclusive growth with the battle cry, “Sulong, Bossing!” Nominations are now open for business leaders who have inspired and enabled others to achieve their business dreams; and those who have made inclusive growth part of their business plans.
“Philippine businesses are today challenged by the call for inclusive growth to align with the administration’s thrust to develop the provinces and lift Filipinos out of poverty,” said Mitch Locsin, PLDT Vice President and Head of SME Nation. “Across the country, there are already successful micros, small and medium scale players (MSMEs) who, even in advance of the Government’s call, have created sustainable growth models that bring employment to the sectors of society that need it. This year, we would like to celebrate those leaders.”
He pointed out that MSMEs are often better poised to respond to this call because their size affords them relatively more agility to understand, adapt, and respond to new customer expectations.
Stressing the importance that the sector plays in moving the needle on poverty through Inclusive Growth, he explained that “MSMEs can be considered the backbone of the country’s economic growth, making up about 99.6% of locally registered businesses and generating over 1-million jobs annually.”
These MSMEs are mostly found in NCR, CALABARZON, Central Luzon, Central Visayas, and the Western Visayas. While a big portion is found in NCR, the majority of them are actually spread throughout the country. Given this, the direction for this year’s MVP Bossing Awards is to take on a nation-building approach to recognizing the MSME owners from all over the Philippines. By doing so, we can expand the reach of PLDT SME Nation and make it more inclusive to entrepreneurs from different provinces and regions. Consistent with the criteria in the past years, the 2016 MVP Bossings will be selected based on their: Promising Entrepreneurial Journey (20%); Market/Brand Affinity (20%); Integration of Tech to Business (30%); and Corporate Social Responsibility (30%).
Alongside the 2016 MVP Bossing Awards, in partnership with Go Negosyo and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), six outstanding small scale businesses will be recipients of the first-ever Kapatid Awards. An offshoot of the recently launched “Kapatid Program” developed by Go Negosyo and DTI to support MSME development through training and partnering with larger, more established corporations, the Kapatid Awards will recognize one Shared Services Facility (SSF) cooperator and/or end-user and one entrepreneur from each of the three main Philippine islands (Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao) who have adopted an inclusive business model and have linked micro and small entrepreneurs in their value chain.
To take on this nation-building approach, we recognize how different Bossings help lead other SME owners to achieve their goals. It is not only the effort of one Bossing but MSME owners from all over the Philippines are actually inspired and supported along the way. In the same way, technology acts a great equalizer for businesses of all sizes, PLDT SME Nation continues to empower entrepreneurs to reach more, do more, and connect more. “Sulong Bossing” shows that with every innovative product or service, Bossings, and their businesses lead the country and other SME owners to a common goal – success and progress of the Filipino.
Since its founding in 2008, PLDT SME Nation has provided entrepreneurs with technologies suited for their needs – from business-enabling voice, broadband and mobility solutions to more sophisticated enterprise-level ICT and Cloud services that help gear towards the future – all riding on our robust nationwide infrastructure. The company is committed to serving Filipino entrepreneurs by giving them access to mobility, connectivity, support, and hardware – all tailored to meet the needs of enterprises of all sizes.
With a wide array of technology tools and solutions dedicated to taking MSMEs to the next level, business owners are given the opportunity to take their ventures to even the global e-commerce market and make it big in their respective industries.
Business Solutions
• Smart Bro Enterprise provides corporations with reliable high-speed internet connectivity and offers more mobile broadband service with its flexible and affordable internet connection via Smart’s GPRS 3GS and HSPA technology.
• Smart LTE boasts the latest in wireless technology. Enhance your mobile broadband experience with SMART LTE. With its minimal latency, get a smooth connection in even the most bandwidth-intensive circumstances like playing an online game or streaming a video.
• FibrBiz raises the bar for business broadband solutions with the latest high-speed network that runs on PLDT’s superior fiber optic backbone. Fibrbiz is PLDT SME Nation’s fastest shared broadband today. Now bundled with FREE landline and a pocket wifi, it ensures that you stay connected to your business inside and outside your office.
• PLDT iGate is your premium Internet gateway service that provides dedicated, reliable, and managed connectivity to the global Internet. iGate is designed to meet the increasing demand for a high-performance Internet service to keep up with bandwidth-intensive multimedia applications and mission critical communications.
• Smart WiFi gives companies the triple-A experience by providing customers with access to the internet, effective brand exposure through customized ads, and transforms the enterprise into a data-driven business through the build-in analytics. Pave the way to the digital age, #wifitheworld!
• SMART Postpaid is our mobile voice, SMS, and data service offering to corporate and SME clients. SMART Postpaid offers a wide variety of top-class handsets and devices, supporting the latest mobile operating systems in the market today. SMART Postpaid is powered by SMART’s Nation widest network, the most reliable and wide-reaching network in the country today.
• Smart Bizkit is an all-in-one business bundle that supplies you with connectivity and mobility through your mobile phone and a reliable broadband service, enabling you to connect with your colleagues, peers, and customers seamlessly.
• Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) is a suite of communication and collaboration solutions that allow users to connect simply and efficiently with colleagues, peers, and customers. With just one number, users can collaborate and accomplish, anytime and anywhere.
• Google Apps. A 100% web-based suite of collaborative productivity apps powered by Google that offer you and your business access to professional email, shared calendars, online document editing and storage, video meetings, and much more.
• Smart StoreManager is designed to monitor in real time the daily inventory, out-of-stock, sales take-up, and other important data available from stores/outlets. It automates the manual process involved in collecting data and allows companies to get data in real time with no manual intervention and encoding.
• Smart ServiceManager is an app-based reporting, data gathering, and service management application that allows service-oriented industries to centralize and optimize two-way communications with field employees. It is a synergy of web-based and mobile applications, using the latest mobile devices, and powered by SMART’s Nation widest network.
• Smart SalesManager. A Customer Relationship Management tool that provides relevant information to field personnel and automating sales processes to enhance customer experience through the use of an enabled mobile device connected through wireless data.
• Smart Pharma is an end-to-end solutions package specially designed for the pharmaceutical industry featuring a suite of mobile efficiency modules for both medical representatives and upper management. It combines top-notch mobile applications with the latest mobile devices, connected to SMART’s Nationwidest network.
• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is an enterprise-grade cloud service that makes available a flexible hosted computing capacity through the web. IaaS is not only more cost-effective than traditional on-premise hardware but also gives you full control over computing resources.
• DraaS. PLDT Cloud DRaaS is a Cloud-based Disaster recovery solution with backup, restore, and recovery abilities designed to provide seamless end-to-end
• Colocation gives you the superior advantage of robust and world-class facilities, unparalleled performance, and unmatched resiliency of our purposely-built Internet Data Center that meet the demands of your business infrastructure as a primary and/or disaster recovery site.
• Smart Tracker. A solution that utilizes GPS tracking system to enable users to monitor their vehicle or filed force personnel’s location in real time. It helps businesses increase operational efficiency and ensure asset security.
• Smart E-Form. A digital proof-of-delivery system that leverages the mobile technology replacing the pen-and-paper system of tracking goods delivery.
• Smart Fleet. A cloud-based solution designed to help businesses perform the following operations – vehicle management including maintenance, dispatching and cashiering, driver data and reports.
• Smart e-Ticketing automates scheduling and fare management for transport companies. Monitor admissions and purchases from your head office while tracking sales as they happen.
• The Digital Campus Suite is a complete solution suite designed to uplift Philippine education to global standards. It provides relevant content, collaboration solutions and smart devices powered by PLDT and Smart’s connectivity.
• TackThis! is offering our SMEs with everything they need to start an online store. From a beautiful storefront, equipped with flexible and localized delivery.
• PayMaya Swipe. Give your business a payment scheme upgrade. PayMaya Swipe gives business owners the flexibility in accepting payments and the access to a real-time online sales report for monitoring all your card transactions.
• MyDSLBiz is your premium DSL connection. Have that extra edge with unlimited internet speeds, starting at 10Mbps to 20Mbps with a free landline for your voice connectivity – completing the package perfect for your expanding business.
• KaAsenso. Start your business right with a three-bundled service for the price of one! Get a fast and reliable DSL connection, a landline, TackThis! online store.
Until November 9, the public is encouraged to nominate business leaders in the SME Sector who they feel have inspired and enabled others to achieve their own business dreams through their own successful ventures, or who have successfully woven Inclusive Growth into their Business Journeys. Nominations can be submitted through the linkwww.smenation.com.ph/MVPBA2016.
Let’s see who will make it this year! Winners will be announced on November 23.
To know more about PLDT SME Nation, its business solutions and activities, please visit www.smenation.com.ph orwww.facebook.com/SMENation.
