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“I believe that there is no shortage of social entrepreneurs here in the country - whether in government, the private sector, or in our vibrant civil society. I think that we have the golden opportunity to ensure that we build a comprehensive, collaborative, and definitive Social Enterprise Development Roadmap.”  - Fernando Zobel de Ayala

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The true potential of social entrepreneurship  lies in  the SE ecosystem behind it. During the 2023 SE Roadmap Council Conference, social enterprise movers, intervenors, and advocates came together to mark 1st-year milestones in the SE Roadmap and to chart direction - as a united body - for the future of SE in the Philippines. At the heart of this pursuit is the deeply rooted Filipino value of bayanihan, which embodies the spirit of community and working together towards a shared goal.  

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Bayanihan in Action

Building on the initiatives rolled out in 2023, representatives from five SE subsectors, namely Corporations, the Academe, Cooperatives, NGOs, and MSMEs & People’s Associations - shared their focus programs and identified areas of joint work through a Collaborative Action Programming Workshop to culminate Day 2 of the conference. 

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Taking subsector-specific programming to the next level, the workshop gave the subsector leadership a platform for dialogue and ways forward for collaboration among subsectors and partnerships with SE intervenors. It also allowed them to lay out longer-term plans for localization efforts to better address needs and challenges at the area cluster levels of i) North Luzon, ii) the National Capital Region and South Luzon, iii) Visayas, and iv) Mindanao.

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The SE Roadmap Council, on behalf of the subsectors they represent,  shared their goals and commitments towards unifying their efforts to enable SE in the Philippines. 

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The Corporations subsector, led by the Ayala Group and its initial movers - BPI Foundation (BPIF), Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) and BPI BanKo - aims to integrate their existing programs into SE Roadmap initiatives. BPIF, with programs such as BPI Sinag, and ALI, which supports social enterprises through Alagang AyalaLand, look to enable the SEs they work with through capacity development initiatives under the SE Roadmap. They will also expand their reach to universities and colleges with the support of the Academe subsector. 

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From the Ayala Group, there was a concerted effort to mobilize existing training resources from other Ayala companies, such as Globe for digitalization and BPI BanKo for financial inclusion. In addition, efforts are underway to facilitate access to BanKo's financial products for working capital, along with financial education and training for SEs.

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Meanwhile, the MSMEs and People’s Associations subsector will provide training for SEs, community-based enterprises, and people's associations on product development and design, in collaboration with the NGOs, Corporations, and Cooperatives subsectors. This is meant to enhance SEs’ competitiveness and will be complemented by market-linking initiatives both locally, such as through  Sinag Sari-Sari stores, and internationally.

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Measuring not only financial performance but also socio-environmental gains has been one of the identified needs of the MSMEs & People’s Associations subsector. This emphasized the importance of impact measurement, a key initiative of the subsector supported by Corporations, NGOs, Cooperatives, and the Academe subsectors. The introduction of community vetting also adds a layer of check-and-balance to ensure that an enterprise or organization aligns with SE principles before receiving SE certification in the future.

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The Academe subsector aims to start a boot camp and SE Competition at the interschool, regional, and national levels. This will strengthen the social enterprise development initiatives of universities and colleges and provide a platform for innovative and sustainable ideas to be properly incubated.  The Academe, which is now organized as the National Association of Social Enterprise Educators and Administrators (NASEEA), also plans to organize SE-focused study tours, potentially aligning with a similar initiative of the Cooperatives, Lakbay Aral. 

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NASEEA’s focus is to raise awareness among partner schools and to encourage participation in the SE Roadmap. They will also undertake coaching and mentoring of their member educators to deepen their understanding of SEs. 

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The Cooperatives subsector is moving to integrate the cooperative values and principles into the SE curriculum, in collaboration with the Academe. They will also work with NASEEA and the MSMEs & People’s Associations subsector on the Lakbay Aral program. In addition, the Cooperatives subsector aims to integrate digital technologies in microenterprise development, aligning with digital inclusion and digital literacy initiatives for SEs that will be led by the Corporations subsector.

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The NGOs subsector is leading negotiations to formalize a financing platform, which will streamline financial services for SEs, such as loans and grants provided by other NGOs and foundations. This will attract impact investors and private companies to invest in and support social enterprises. Beyond the financing platform, a collaborative effort with the Academe subsector is in the works to establish volunteerism and immersion programs to increase awareness of social entrepreneurship and to drive SE advocacy. 

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The NGOs subsector also aims to support Impact Assessment and Monitoring and Evaluation efforts for SEs to measure the socio-environmental outcomes and impact they are creating. This commitment highlights the subsector's dedication to ensuring accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement within the SE ecosystem.

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These are just some of the exciting plans in development to advance SEs and the practice of social entrepreneurship in the country. Still, one initiative that cuts across all subsectors is the offering of capacity-building programs, which are closest to the communities being built ground-up within each subsector. 

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As the SE Roadmap Council heads into its 2nd year of implementation, our growing SE community looks forward to even deeper collaboration, learning, and impact.  Sama-sama sa Tatak SE! 

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