“Competition will increase and it really will affect a lot of local players. What needs to be done is to seek opportunities to step up and it’s a painful process that is not easy, but sometimes it’s really needed,” social entrepreneur Mark Ruiz, President and Co-Founder of Hapinoy MicroVentures, said in an interview after the World Economic Forum (WEF) session on the Education-Entrepreneurship-Employment Nexus.
“From my understanding , people are saying we are ready. I’m not so sure, but if we are ready then it will be a very good opportunity and time for a lot of new entrepreneurs to step up and be able to compete at a larger scale,” he said.
Ruiz said that the WEF is a good opportunity for entrepreneurs like him to connect with large businesses and government officials and discuss solutions to the concerns of many micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.
He said that the MSMEs provide up 60 to 70 percent of employment in the country.
The need to educate Filipinos more and more on entrepreneurial skills will also be very important to contribute to economic growth, Ruiz said.
“Filipinos are not risk-takers and we don’t respect failure. We have to be more open to that, we have to embrace the culture of innovation. It’s okay to make mistakes, it’s okay to fail as long as it does not stop you from your progress,” he said.
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