Go Negosyo sa CDO
 23 Oct. 2007

.
Cagayan de Oro City (CDO), the City of Golden Friendship, lived up to its billing as an important stop in the crosscountry "entrepreneurial voyage" of Go Negosyo.

We were on the 6th hop of the Go Negosyo Caravan from its launch in Cebu City early this year.

The Atrium at the Limketkai Center was appropriately dressed up for the occasion, decked with buntings and balloons to accent the colorful booths and exhibits of participating entrepreneurs.

CDO’s landmark brands, like SLERS, famous for its delicious smoked country ham and Oroham of Tropic Foods Corp., with their Xmas baskets in full display, were among the exhibitors. Start-ups like Botoy’s Litson manok and Shao-Mai Dimsum also had their own stalls, to show that even smallness can be shared through franchising.

Side-by-side with the hilot massage of La Cabana Spa was a wellness line from Malaysia, the Felissa Spa/Salon that is extending its franchise to CDO. Other resorts, hotels, spas and property developments were also part of the exhibit, which was jointly organized with the Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Suppliers and service providers for entrepreneurs: telecoms, transpo, health, even power (STEAG Stabe Power) suppliers were among the 100 or so exhibitors, crammed neatly into the Atrium.

Syntactics Inc. was there too, to offer "IT Solutions that work, by developing customized operations for faster and more accurate information, resulting to better decision making." This is to help MSMEs be competitive, go global, their brochure declared.

Go Negosyo CDO, however, was neither about the exhibit nor the exhibitors. The road show, and the celebrity panel, most of whom had to sit-out a two-hour delay in the flight out of Manila, was there for the 300 to 400 teen entrepreneurs who came for an intro into entrepreneurship.

Mostly coming from Xavier University, Capitol University, Liceo de Cagayan, and, Agusan, Bulua and Puerto National High Schools, the aspiring entrepreneurs got a bird’s eye view of the MSME program, and a hands-on feel of entrepreneurship.

They must have drawn inspiration from Jay Aldeguer of Island’s Souvenirs, who started his "entrepreneurship" in Grade V, when his classmates started buying the sketches and drawings he made out of boredom.

The bottom line: It is never too soon nor too early to be entrepreneurial.

An interesting question raised was on the range of government services in MSME, which is of course holistic and comprehensive — from basic development training, product development, market development, even developing managerial skills, through services provided by the Departments of Trade and Industry, Science and Technology, and Social Welfare and Development; TESDA; Bangko Sentral; the Government Financial Institutions like, DBP, PCFC, LBP, etc.

As the road show host, Cito Beltran proclaimed: "There is no reason for anybody in Northern Mindanao not to be successful."

Of course, the successful and outstanding entrepreneurs were given due honor on that day: Henry Canoy of Radio Mindanao Network; Alonzo Chiong of Oro Asian Automotive Center; Eleanor Jose of Vjandep Bakeshop; Alfonso Lim of Limketkai Development Corporation; Mercedes Mejia of SLERS; Elpidio Paras of PARASA Cable TV; Reynaldo Rafisura of Salay Handmade Paper; Rene Jose Stuart Del Rosario, Sr. of Green Gold Gourmet Food Products/ Suka Pinakurat; Isidra "Cheding" Tan of Cheding’s Peanuts Inc.; and, Henrik Kelly Yu of Bigby’s.

CDO’s best joins the ranks of Go Negosyo’s most inspiring entrepreneurs, who are honored not only for their outstanding achievements but for the inspiring example that they are for aspiring entrepreneurs.

It was another marathon run for Go Negosyo, forging ahead (after a late start) until well past 2 PM without any lunch for the panel and the participants. No one complained and everyone persisted, and it would have gone much longer if not for the moderator’s call for a late-lunch break. The level of interest and enthusiasm was infectious and inspiring.

As it turned out, it was a good hedge on the tragic news we received over lunch.

[TOP] [HOME]