BPI Foundation provides P3.5 million cash grants to help social enterprises pivot in the time of COVID-19

Ten social enterprises emerged as winners at the BPI Sinag Reignite 2020 Awards, the flagship program of BPI Foundation that champions Filipino social enterprises (SEs).

With the theme “Sinag Reignite: Reimagining, Repositioning, and Restrategizing Social Enterprises,” this year’s pivot challenge awarded Accents and Petals, Down to Earth, Lola Sayong Eco-Surf Camp, Organic Growth, and Rajah Animal Feeds (Halal Organics Crops Production) as winners of the top five spots; while BalaiKamay Handcrafts, CalaBoo Dairyard Inc., Mavil’s House of Mushrooms, Mori Notes, and Virtualahan Inc. took the sixth to 10th spots, respectively.

Each of the top five winners will receive Php 500,000 in cash grants, while the 6th to 10th placers will get Php 200,000 each. These SEs will also undergo a six-month mentorship program from the pioneering social enterprise incubator Bayan Academy.

Congratulating this year’s winners through a recorded video message, BPI Foundation Chairman Fernando Zobel de Ayala said, “We encourage you to continue building this social entrepreneurship ecosystem, where passionate individuals like yourselves will support each other and meaningfully contribute to our economic progress. We hope that you likewise inspire and empower our underserved Filipino communities to also create prosperity for everyone.”

BPI President and CEO Cezar P. Consing also emphasized the importance of social entrepreneurship amid these trying times. “The concern for the triple bottomline is probably more important today than it has been in any time of our history. We hope that with these awards, a subset of our entrepreneur alumni will find the help to continue doing what they do best – helping others and the economy, creating employment, and doing all other kinds of social good,” he said.

Aiming to continue shedding light to social entrepreneurs and their communities through BPI Sinag, BPI Foundation Executive Director Owen Cammayo said, “We look forward to establishing social enterprises as a mainstream business sector and encourage more entrepreneurs to pursue the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit consistently and purposefully.”

For this year’s pivot challenge, BPI Sinag welcomed 44 alumni from different batches since 2014. After two boot camps, the top 20 finalists were tasked to present their business plans to a highly-esteemed panel of judges, which included Dr. Eduardo Morato, Jr., a renowned entrepreneurship guru, and the Chairman and President of Bayan Academy; Mr. Jay Bernardo, Founder and Director of ACE Center for Entrepreneurship & Management Education, Inc. (ACEME), and a sought-after consultant for budding and existing entrepreneurs.

Also joining Dr. Morato and Mr. Bernardo are Mr. Owen Cammayo, BPI’s Head of Corporate Affairs Group and Executive Director of BPI Foundation; Ms. Priya Thachadi, co-founder and CEO of Villgro Philippines; and Mr. Rico Gonzales, co-Founder and managing Director of Xchange, and a passionate promoter of social entrepreneurship in the Philippines.

This year’s winners are involved in various businesses that focus on people, planet, and profit. Accents and Petals creates sustainable flowers made from recycled materials; BalaiKamay Enterprise handcrafts home and office furnishings using upcycled scrap wood and more; CalaBoo Dairyard Inc. sells premium and naturally nutritious dairy products made from the milk of grass-fed carabaos; Down to Earth harvests fresh and healthy farm produce that are organically and sustainably grown; Lola Sayong Eco-Surf Camp offers surfing lessons, nature side trips and more; Mavil’s House of Mushrooms sells various healthy snacks; Mori Notes creates multifunctional and quirky-designed containers for every use; Organic Growth grows herbs and vegetables; Rajah Animal Feeds (Halal Organics Crops Production) sells organic vegetables, free-range chickens, and many others; and Virtualahan Inc. provides several digital training programs to Persons with Disabilities.

Other social enterprises also received special recognitions. Organic Growth, an agribusiness-focused SE, won the NegosyoKo Award and received a P20,000 cash grant from BPI Direct BanKo. Rajah Animal Feeds (Halal Organics Crops Production), also an agriculture-based SE, took home the Endeavor Mentorship Award that comes with several mentorship sessions. Jacinto and Lirio and Le Rosa Patisserie – who produce vegan leather accessories and freshly-baked goods, respectively – were given The Gift Award which entitles them to a one-on-one mentorship program from StartUp Village. Meanwhile, Mori Notes and Organic Growth received the Investment Readiness Award from Villgro Philippines, and three months’ worth of investment mentoring support from the sponsor.