... and services
during the CSO-SEED BIR Demo Day
Cagayan De Oro, Philippines, 7thOctober, 2019:Villgro Philippines and the Asia Society for
Social Improvement and Sustainable Transformation, in partnership with the
British Council and co-funded by the European Union, will be conducting a Demo
Day and Social Enterprise Showcase on October 7th at the N Hotel in Cagayan
de Oro. Key stakeholders from the ecosystem including the Government,
financial institutions, international and local NGOs and private market
partners, will be in attendance for a day of networking and panel discussions.
The event is also an opportunity to see the progress of 36 social entrepreneurs
from across the BARMM network showcase their products, ranging from
agriculture, food, and fisheries to lending, trading, business services and
weaving. The showcase booths are open to
public from 3:00pm to 5:30pm.
This event is part of the Business and
Investment Readiness Programme and is the final activity of the three-year long
CSO-SEED Programme which aims to improve civil society
participation in policy reforms and develop local incubators to cultivate an
environment conducive to decent work, job creation and Small to Medium Enterprise
development.
"The British Council in the Philippines works
with partners such as Villgro and ASSIST to help strengthen the Philippines’
social enterprise sector and make it sustainable, particularly in conflict
affected communities. We are aware of the huge
potential of the sector and take pride in how our CSO SEED grantees have
improved their governance structure and business model as a social
enterprise. In this event, we are confident that our
grantees will be able to demonstrate that they are prepared to broaden their
markets across and beyond BARMM,” said Pilar Aramayo-Prudencio, Country Director,
British Council in the Philippines.
Six social enterprise intermediaries were
carefully selected to participate in the programme and successfully mentored
the SEs: Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology, The
Moropreneur Inc., Integrated Resource Development for Tri-People, Nagdilaab
Foundation, Maranao People Development Center, and Concerned Alliance of
Professionals and Students Inc.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with the
British Council and the European Union on the Business and Investment Readiness
initiative, which is focussed on long-term sustainable change in one of the
most vulnerable of the regions. The openness and thirst for knowledge of our
partners on the ground is driving this programme. I have personally been very impressed by the quality and success
of the businesses located in some of the most remote parts of the country. What they need is a tad bit of resources and access
to markets to accelerate their growth,” said Priya Thachadi, CEO and Co-founder
of Villgro Philippines.
Over the course of the programme, entrepreneurs
received seed funding to support their ideas and had the opportunity to be
mentored by their respective social enterprise intermediaries and various other
mentors. The demo day is being organized to help social enterprise
intermediaries (SEIs) and their respective social enterprises (SEs) network
with key ecosystem stakeholders and support them in scaling their social impact
in the BARMM.
About Villgro
Villgro is an early-stage social enterprise
incubator and investor. Villgro funds and mentors’ innovative social
enterprises that are building solutions to improve the lives of the poor.
Through its intensive hands-on model, Villgro works closely with entrepreneurs
at the early stages, helping them navigate the challenges of getting to market
faster and cheaper.
Set up in 2001, Villgro has supported over 120
social enterprises in India, who have gone on to raise almost USD 20 million in
follow on funding, created about 4000 jobs and impacted the lives of around 15
million people.
Villgro in the Philippines aims to create
successful, innovative, impactful enterprises in the country. Their hands-on
incubation model will provide funding, mentoring, knowledge and networks to
early stage entrepreneurs, who are building innovative solutions to impact the
lives of the poor. Their unique incubation model will help entrepreneurs
strengthen their problem solution fit, validate business models and build and
implement a strong go-to-market strategy that will be sustainable and
impactful.
For more
information contact:
Angelo Guingona
Santiago
Program Manager, Villgro Philippines
Program Manager, Villgro Philippines
