BPI Foundation, the social development arm of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), recently awarded a total of P3 million cash grants to the winners of its BPI Sinag Evolution business challenges for three vital Social Enterprise (SE) ecosystem pillars—social enterprises (SEs), educators, and intervenors.
On its 8th year, the BPI Sinag program, with the theme “BPI Sinag Evolution,” in partnership with Bayan Academy, aims to elevate its impact and achieve inclusive and sustainable growth by implementing, for the first time, a multi-stakeholder approach.
“We believe that a multi-stakeholder approach is key in pushing for the full development of the social enterprise sector,” said BPI Foundation Executive Director Owen L. Cammayo. “It truly takes a village to drive further our shared agenda of creating positive change and lasting impact to society.
A total of 202 educators, intervenors, and social entrepreneurs applied for this year’s business challenge. After thorough deliberation and intensive boot camps, the finalists were shortlisted and tasked to prepare a pitch of their business plan.
Top 10 Social Entrepreneurs
Recognized for presenting the most promising projects this year, Breastfeeding Care Center of the North (Baguio City), Coron Natural Farms (Palawan), PHILIA (Sultan Kudarat), Shiftech Marine (Misamis Oriental), and Zarahlan Bokashi Composting (Quezon City) were hailed as the top five awardees of the BPI Sinag Evolution Business Challenge for SEs, while Green Beauty and Wellness Center (Sorsogon), Ride Mommy Delivery Services (Cagayan), Sanagi Agri Tourism Farm (Benguet), Studentship Educational Innovations Philippines, OPC (Sultan Kudarat), and Tableya Filipino (Davao City) took the sixth to tenth spots.
To help take their businesses to the next level, each of the top five winners will receive cash grants worth P300,000, while the rest of the awardees will get P100,000 each. The top 10 SEs will also undergo a six-month mentorship program from the pioneering social enterprise incubator Bayan Academy for Social Entrepreneurship and Human Resource Development.
Other social enterprises also received special awards. Tableya Filipino (Davao City) won the BPI Direct BanKo NegosyoKo Award with a P30,000 cash grant while 1740 Coffee Genesis (National Capital Region) bagged the Entrego Bizkarte Award with a P30,000 cash grant. Capili Trading Inc. (Misamis Oriental) and Ride Mommy Delivery Services (Cagayan) took home the Villgro Philippines Business Growth Support Award with three-month exclusive mentorship sessions. Moreover, Ride Mommy Delivery Services and Eduksine (Bulacan) obtained the StartUp Village Mentorship Award with a one-on-one mentorship program.
On top of these, Sinag SEs will also benefit from market access through the Sinag Sari-Sari Store in Ayala malls nationwide through its partnership with Alagang Ayala Land.
Top 5 intervenors
BPI Foundation also named the winners of the pioneer batch of BPI Sinag Evolution Business Challenge for Intervenors earlier this October. This challenge seeks to have a collaborative effort with other organizations that support social entrepreneurs.
Fashion Innovative Businesses for the Environment, Reformation, and Sustainability (FIBERS), Manila Water Foundation, Lorma Community Development Foundation, Inc., Far Eastern University – Nicanor Reyes Memorial Foundation, and PeaceBuilders Community, Inc. were announced as the top five awardees, in no particular order. These organizations won a cash grant of P100,000 each for their innovative programs for social entrepreneurship.
Top 5 educators
BPI Foundation also created Sinag for Educators to empower and encourage academic institutions to teach social entrepreneurship to young learners and encourage them to be changemakers in their communities.
In July, Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges, Catanduanes State University, International School for Better Beginnings, Palawan State University – Narra, and Southville International School were awarded as the top 5 winners of the first-ever BPI Sinag Evolution Business Challenge for Intervenors. Each of the top five winners received a cash grant of P100,000 to implement their proposal.
BPI Foundation Executive Director Owen Cammayo (top center) and Bayan Academy President Prof. Jay Bernardo (bottom center) together with the top five winners of the BPI Sinag Social Entrepreneurship and Management Program for Educators.
To know more about Sinag Evolution, visit https://www.bpifoundation.org/page/bpi-sinag and follow BPI Foundation on Facebook and Instagram.