Plantersbank chairman Ambassador Jesus P. Tambunting declared Small and Medium Entrepreneurs “the key contributors to wealth creation, employment generation and social mobility” in the country today and urged the promotion of the SME sector as the more promising strategy for stimulating economic growth.
Ambassador Tambunting delivered these remarks during the keynote at the well-attended GLOBE Business Appreciation Night in Fort Bonifacio Global City. Dubbed a Celebration of the Filipino Entrepreneurial Spirit, the event was attended by Globe’s Top 300 SME Accounts; partners of Globe Business subscribers; members of the Association of Filipino Franchisers, Incorporated (AFFI); SME finance and micro credit advocates, policy makers and leading executives.
“The great importance of SMEs in our national life cannot be overstated,” according to Ambassador Tambunting, who also noted the apparent failure of past industrialization policies over-emphasizing the development of large enterprises.
“SMEs contribute a quarter of the gross national product, employ half the labor force and generate 60 percent of the country’s exports,” Ambassador Tambunting said. He said SMEs should be seen as the “lead sector in stimulating economic growth, alleviating poverty and promoting a strong middle class” and acknowledged the “perseverance, resilience and sigasig” of Filipino entrepreneurs in pulling through the ravages of the 1997 Asian financial crisis and today’s rising challenges to business.
Thirty six years ago, Ambassador Tambunting was a senior executive of one of our country’s largest commercial banks when he decided to strike out on his own and buy a small Bulacan-based thrift bank. His business plan was to begin small, grow the bank, move it to Makati and then transform it into a commercial bank catering to large corporate accounts. However, fate has charted a different path for Plantersbank. Due to the bank’s small size and its bucolic location, it catered to the small entrepreneurs and producers in the countryside.
“What started as work born out of necessity soon turned into meaningful and gratifying work,” according to Ambassador Tambunting. “Dealing with the small entrepreneurs opened my eyes to the wonderful realization that we were making an impact where it counted most—with the marginalized sectors and the small entrepreneurs in the countryside.”
Plantersbank and Globe Telecom are working closely together to fill the gaps in business services for SMEs. Globe Telecom is currently the co-presenter with Plantersbank e-business affiliate SME.Com.Ph in the nationwide SME Toolkit Road Show series.