Manila, Philippines– At the time when consumers’ purchasing and patronizing habits are highly influenced by the values and messages brands are sending to the world, it is not a shock that social enterprises are taking the main spotlight in both business and lifestyle these days.
Pre-pandemic, social enterprises comprise 18% of all businesses in the Philippines. However, many of these organizations faced challenges and had to shut down during the lockdowns, cutting short the benefits they bring to the communities they serve.
The Office of Bukidnon representative Jose Manuel F. Alba, in partnership with the PRESENT Coalition, Roots Collective and Oxfam Pilipinas, organized the Social Enterprise Trade Fair at the House of Representatives on Monday in efforts to help the social enterprises in the Philippines, featuring locally-made and socially responsible products to promote the Poverty Reduction through Social Entrepreneurship (PRESENT) Bill.
“As the nation continues to recover from the pandemic, we should be looking at social enterprises as a way to hasten inclusive economic development, especially since they prioritize people over profits,” said Oxfam Pilipinas Executive Director Erika Geronimo. “At the heart of the proposed social entrepreneurship bill is the aspiration to help members of low-income communities and vulnerable groups, especially women, earn a decent living and escape poverty.”
The trade fair highlighted how social mission-driven organizations help poor and marginalized communities earn a living while protecting the environment.
The PRESENT Bill aims to promote social entrepreneurship as a strategy for poverty reduction, and a strong push to support of the government for social enterprises.
“This bill, if passed, will enable the creation and strengthening of social enterprises as transformational partners of the poor and marginalized,” said Institute for Social Entrepreneurship in Asia President and PRESENT Coalition Convener Dr. Marie Lisa Dacanay.
