Angkas CEO receives entrepreneur award
THE chief executive officer (CEO) of motorcycle hailing application Angkas, George Royeca, has been named as the Emerging Entrepreneur of 2022 by the United Kingdom-based Ernst & Young (EY) and the SGV Foundation.
Royeca was presented the award on Tuesday during the Entrepreneur of the Year (EOTY) awards at the Grand Hyatt Manila.
“I stand here on a collective struggle of thousands, millions,
of motorcycle owners that make a living for their families every day,” Royeca said in his acceptance speech in English and Filipino.
“Maraming nasa informal sector ang hindi nare-recognize ng ating lipunan at ‘yun po ang ginawa namin sa Angkas — ni-recognize lang po natin na if you invest in the Filipino people, they will become productive citizens of the country (Many in the informal sector are not recognize in our society and that is what Angkas did; we recognize that if you invest in the Filipino people, they will become productive citizens of the country),” he said.
In a Facebook post, Royeca thanked EY “for recognizing thousands of hardworking motorcycle riders and their daily struggles in the pursuit of a better life.”
“This is just the beginning as we spread the gospel of Angkas to the rest of the county. Thank you to all that has supported and continues to support our cause. Together, we will end poverty in the Philippines in our lifetime,” he wrote.
Royeca’s company said it intends to create jobs for 18 million motorcycle riders in the Philippines.
It is not the first time Royeca has won an award as Angkas head. He was among the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) Awardees in 2020.
“I’m simply a figurehead of a community on whose shoulders I stand on,” Royeca said. “I spent these years helping to push for rights and recognition of motorcycle riders and passengers, but it is because of our collective struggle that I am recognized.”
The motorcycle hailing app had received accolades, such as the Airspeed Service Excellence Company of the Year in the Asia CEO Awards 2022 Circle of Excellence, as well as one gold and two bronze Stevie Awards in the 2019 International Business Awards and the Digital Disruptor for Philippines in the 2019 Philippines IDC Digital Transformation Awards.
Angkas was founded in 2016. Royeca was named CEO on Nov. 27, 2021, taking over from his wife, Angeline. It currently has 23,000 riders.