More nominees expected

Maria Balmaceda (left), program manager of Entrepreneur of the Year Philippines, shares her optimism about having more nominees in Cebu.

EOY PHILIPPINES 2017

Organizers of a nationwide search for outstanding entrepreneurs are expecting more nominees this year as the Philippine economy is projected to grow further in 2017.

Maria “Marlu” Balmaceda, program manager of Entrepreneur of the Year Philippines by SGV Foundation, Inc., said they are particularly optimistic about the Visayas, which is considered a “hot seat for entrepreneurship.”

“We like coming to Cebu because the business activity is very dynamic,” she told reporters during the Visayas launch of EOY Philippines 2017 in Cebu City last week.

Balmaceda is also the senior director for brand, marketing, and communications at SGV (SyCip Gorres Velayo & Co.), a member firm of Ernst & Young Global Ltd., and is concurrently the executive director at SGV Foundation.

The Philippine economy grew by 6.8 percent in 2016 and was seen to expand even more, opening up opportunities for new business players and challenging existing ventures to step up.

Since EOY Philippines was launched in 2003, it has since become the “most eagerly anticipated business recognition program of its kind in the country.”

The program aims to identify, acknowledge, and encourage entrepreneurial business people who, through their passion, hard work, and dedication, help boost the economy, underpin the future, and create wealth and employment for many people.

Over the last decade, the Visayas has produced 14 finalists and nine winners. Among the winners were Gabino Abejo, Jr. of Abejo Builders Corporation as Young Entrepreneur (2010); Julita Urbina of Café Laguna as Small Business Entrepreneur (2006); and Philip Tan of Wellmade Motors & Development Corporation as Innovation Entrepreneur (2015).