Program launched to reduce poverty

A social program, which aims to alleviate poverty through small-scale businesses and accelerated capacity building among the marginalized sectors, was launched yesterday.

The social entrepreneurship, a forprofit business model that pursues innovative solutions to societal problems, is a joint project of the University of San Carlos, US-based Santa Clara University, and Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Incorporated (RAFI).

Challoner Matero, the dean of the USC's School of Business and Economics, said the collaboration will help the academe to solidify its thrust towards producing responsible business graduates.

"We started articulating our vision in School of Business and Economics to produce professionals that would create, manage, and distribute wealth for the common good," he said.

For her part, Dominica Chua, RAFI president and chief operating president, said the collaboration is of great help to the micro entrepreneurs in the region.

RAFI will give technical and financial aid to the project.

"We hope that this partnership and collaboration will help achieve a bigger impact on RAFI and other institutions, but more particularly on the lives of the people that we're going to reach,” she said.

Prior to the partnership, Chua said, RAFI made sure that its thrusts are aligned towards touching the lives of people; the expertise and credibility of the partners are tested; and the impact of it which aims to triple and accelerate the progress of small-scale businesses in the region is prioritized.

Andrew Lieberman, the new program director of Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship in Santa Clara University in USA, said their program of promoting social enterprise has been around for more than 20 years now.

Lieberman said the Miller's center has the vision to accelerate entrepreneurship with the goal of eliminating global poverty.

He said they have been sharing techniques and strategies and providing mechanisms to drive positive behavior change among their local partners.

The center has been working with over 800 social enterprises in 66 countries, including the Philippines.

Prior to the launching of the project, the 2018 International Conference on Business and Economy was held at Waterfront Hotel and Casino in Cebu City last Friday.

At least 120 case presenters were able to present their study on business, social entrepreneurship, innovation, and management during the conference.

The event convened 300 people from the Philippines, Tanzania, Malaysia, Indonesia, and USA.