Fuel for the people

The Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines 2022 has concluded its search for the country’s most undaunted and unstoppable entrepreneurs. Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines is a program of the SGV Foundation, Inc., with the participation of copresenters the Asian Institute of Management, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Philippine Business for Social Progress, and the Philippine Stock Exchange.

BusinessWorld will feature each finalist for the Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines 2022 ahead of the awards ceremony on Nov. 21.

TRUE BLUE corporate guy-turned-entrepreneur Ricardo “Jun” Abelardo, Jr.’s track record for success speaks for itself. He graduated first honor from Ateneo de Naga University High School, and completed a degree in chemical engineering at the University of the Philippines. He received leadership awards upon graduation from high school and college. Mr. Abelardo joined a multinational petroleum company as part of its international leadership program, which is limited to high-potential employees. He was one of the youngest and fastest promoted to the management committee in the company.

Becoming an entrepreneur was initially top of mind for Mr. Abelardo, but he knew an opportunity when he saw one. In 2010, his best friend invited him to go into business. He helped pitch for a nationallevel pharmaceutical distribution contract, which he and his partners won. Apolloplus was born. Around the same time, Mr. Abelardo’s partners had an investment in Urban Chef, a small canteen concessionaire business. After some thought, they all decided to sell Apolloplus and take over Urban Chef completely. It was then that Artemisplus Express, Inc. was established.