In this year’s Sustainability Summit hosted by the UN Global Compact (UNGC) Philippines, NEDA
Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said the reopening of the economy requires a whole-of-nation approach, where enterprises hold hands while recovering from “closure of businesses, increase in the number of the unemployed and the underemployed, and hunger and poverty.”
At a time when small businesses are closing their doors and sending their employees home, Ayala Corporation Chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala encourages “like-minded” business groups to help resuscitate MSMEs, thereby preserving and creating jobs and no one should be left behind.
UNGC CEO and Executive Director Sanda Ojiambo, meanwhile, said that accelerating recovery would require focusing on MSMEs, which account for more than 90% of the economy of most countries and have been the hardest-hit sector by the pandemic. “Partnerships are now more important than ever. We will only recover better if we all work together,” she added.
In his keynote speech, Zobel, 2017 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Pioneer, urged businesses to increase collaboration on issues of overarching national importance. “I believe that all businesses, big or small, stand to benefit during this time if we all collaborate on a shared goal rather than stick to the traditional business instinct of maximizing competitive advantage,” he said.
Zobel also joined Ojiambo and Edillon in stressing the role of small enterprises as “engines of employment and growth”—the very reason why the Ayala Group of Companies has rolled up its sleeves to help MSMEs, which account for 99.5% of businesses and 63% of jobs in the Philippines.
“I strongly believe that large enterprises should actively help maintain the dynamism of this ecosystem of businesses of all sizes,” he said. “Businesses can only do well and maintain their relevance and longevity if they’re also able to do good for their customers, partners, and their communities. We at Ayala have long been advocates of this type of thinking.” Zobel added.
(Yla Alcantara, photo courtesy by OIC Joe Manzano, RPN DZBS Baguio)
