From left, Russelle Trinidad, Sales and Marketing Head of Planters Development Bank SME Solutions; BiD Challenge Philippines winners Anne Krystle Chua Mariposa and Noreen Bautista of Jacinto & Lirio; Marixi R. Prieto, Philippine Daily Inquirer Chairman and PBSP Trustee, and; Sanjiv Vohra, Citi Country Officer, and PBSP Trustee.
From left, Anneke Evers, Senior Advisor of BiD Network; BiD Challenge Philippines winners Anne Krystle Chua Mariposa and Noreen Bautista of Jacinto & Lirio.
From left, Russelle Trinidad, Sales and Marketing Head of Planters Development Bank SME Solutions; BiD Challenge Philippines winner Rolando Corboda and his wife; Rene Meily, President of PLDT-Smart Foundation.
From left, BiD Challenge Philippines winners and Women in Business Challenge Finalists Ma. Mina Lacson and Ma. Lourdes Molina; Jazz Manabat, Senior Brand Manager of Talk ‘n Text, Smart Communications Inc.
From left (front, holding the mock plane ticket), BiD Challenge Philippines winner and Women in Business Challenge Finalists Ma. Mina Lacson and Ma. Lourdes Molina; (center) Lisette van Rhijn, BiD Network Consultant for Southeast Asia.
From left, Anneke Evers, Senior Advisor of BiD Network; BiD Challenge Philippines winners Eric Cadiz and Boy Siojo.
Planters Development Bank (Plantersbank) recently awarded free web hosting services to the top five winners of the recently concluded 2009 Business in Development (BiD) Challenge Philippines held on February 26 at the Asian Institute of Management Conference Center in Makati City.
The top five winners were Jacinto & Lirio Fashion Bags, Ecoglow Mobile Shredding Machine, Global Organic and Wellness Corp., Binalot and Gift and Graces. Other winners were EPP Technologies Inc, Ecobloks, Fish Farming using Low Volume High-Density fish cage system, E-farmers, Hybrid and Inbred Seeds Production, Education Revolution:Alternative Tertiary Program, Kawayan Tech Bamboo Bikes, Manufacture of Citronella Insect Repellent Products, Hapinoy Kahanapbuhay, The Tea Bar and Garado Green Energy.
Winners will receive a start-up capital of P1 million prize money. The top two winners will represent the country in the International BiD competition in Amsterdam, Netherlands wherein the winners will be awarded up to 20,000 euros.
Rommel Juan, owner of Binalot, said it was an honor for the company to be one of the winners because Binalot supports the triple bottom line concept. “Our Dangal at Hanapbuhay para sa Nayon (DAHON) where we get out banana leaves has improved the lives of 30 families in Nagcarlan, Laguna,” he said.
By patronizing Binalot, Juan said a customer helps in alleviating poverty in a community because it uses banana leaves instead of styro packs thereby contributing to the cause of sustainable development, “That’s 1.5 million less styro packs to clog our rivers,” he said.
“So we try to save the environment one less styropack at a time,” Juan pointed out.
Remigio Tito Tirones, senior vice president and head of the SME Banking Group, was one of the members of the board of jurors of the contest. Other members of the board of jurors were Sanjiv Vohra, Citi country officer Philippines; Perry Bayani, head, Talk ‘N Text; Edgar Chua, country chairman, Shell companies in the Philippines; David Balangue, chairman, SGV & Co.; John Miller, chairman and CEO, Nestle Philippines; Emma Lim-Sandrino, executive director, Foundation for a Sustainable Society, Inc.; Marixi R. Prieto, board chairman, Philippine Daily Inquirer; Rhodora Leaño, director, bureau of small and medium enterprises development, Department of Trade and Industry; Edmundo Isidro, chairman, Philippine Venture Capital Investment Group, Inc. and Virgilio Angelo, chairman and CEO, Small Business Guarantee and Finance Corp.
Being an enterprising concept , BiD aims to strike a balance between profit and development. As an anti-poverty instrument, BiD advocates the development of micro enterprise, small and medium scale businesses as a means to jumpstart economic activities in depressed communities of Third World countries.
Meanwhile, the BiD Challenge Philippines seeks to promote aims to promote and support business ideas that adhere to the triple bottom line,by creating a platform where entrepreneurs, experts and investors can meet.
The ‘marketplace’ is the highlight of the annual event where the year’s cream of the crop are put on exhibit to meet investors and other possible business partners, During the event, the top 10 are selected and awarded with seed capital.
Plantersbank, an active supporter of the event, was one of the prize and investment partners of BiD 2009.
The event was organized by the Philippine Business for Social Progress. Major partners include Citi Foundation, Talk ‘N Text, BiD Network, ICCO/Kerkin-Actie, Nationale Commissievoor Internationale Samenwerking enDuurzame Ontwikkeling (NCDO) and the Dutch Postcode Lottery.