PLDT SME Nation, in partnership with Go Negosyo, announced its new roster of Bossings, the winners of MVP Bossing Awards 2011, during the Awards Night held Wednesday at the Meralco Theater.
This year’s awardees are Grand Bossing Socorro Ramos for National Bookstore, Willy Tee Ten for Autohub Group, Samie and Eric Lim for Automatic Centre/BLIMS Furniture, Tennyson Chen for Bounty Fresh, Felix Ang for CATS Motors, Francis Juan for Chic-Boy, Tommanny Tan for FERN Inc., Dr. Rosalinda Hortaleza for HBC Inc., Robert Trota for Max’s Fried Chicken, Martin Lorenzo for Pancake House Group, Justin Uy for Profood International Corp., and RJ and Arianne David for Sulit.com.ph.
Special awards were also given to Philippine Azkals Phil and James Younghusband for Youth and Sports Development, and EchoStore’s Chit Juan for Social Entrepreneurship.
The MVP Bossing Awards is PLDT’s annual search for leaders of successful small and medium-sized businesses who display an enterprising spirit and innovation.
“The entrepreneurial spirit is really the driving force for economic growth. A country could have significant resources, whether mineral, or forestry, or aquatic resources, but these will lay dormant if no one is able to develop those,” says PLDT chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan, who headed the judging committee together with PLDT executives and other industry experts.
Over 200 nominations were received across all sectors including commerce and trade, industrial and manufacturing, retail trade and finance, travel and leisure, and service.
“Our 12 new Bossings for this year have demonstrated that the value of entrepreneurship extends well and beyond the lives of the SME owner and his family. It creates job opportunities and livelihood for more people. We at PLDT SME Nation aim to provide these entrepreneurs with the support they need using technology to bring their business to the next level,” says PLDT SME Nation VP and head Kat Luna-Abelarde.
Now in its third year, the “Bossing Ako” campaign profiles entrepreneurs’ success stories and how, through the use of information and communications technology (ICT), SMEs can be truly competitive with large local players and multinational companies.
“The inspiration behind the Bossing Ako campaign is to honor and herald successful Filipino small and medium entrepreneurs that they may serve as role models and inspirations to future Filipino entrepreneurs. For our nation to be truly progressive, it should be founded on a robust and sustainably progressive small and medium entrepreneurial base,” says PLDT senior vice president Eric R. Alberto.
Each winner received a Kenneth Cobonpue-designed trophy. The acclaimed furniture and industrial designer, an entrepreneurial icon himself, created a trophy featuring a man perched on top of a tower, symbolizing the success story of winning over adversity.
All awardees will be part of the 2012 PLDT SME Nation Bossing Ako, a yearlong multimedia campaign (print, radio, online and events) to be rolled out next year.
For details on the MVP Bossing Awards, visit www.pldtsme-nation.com.ph/bossingako.