Endeavor is poised to expand network in the Philippines; reaches entrepreneurs in more cities. (In photo from L-R) Founder of Zubuchon Joel Binamira, Managing Partner of Navegar Fund Nori Poblador, Founder of Kenneth Cobonpue Kenneth Cobonpue, Founder of GetMore.ph Grace Granlund, Managing Director of Endeavor Philippines Manny Ayala, CEO of Alaska Milk Corporation Fred Uytengsu, Founder of Bo’s Coffee Steve Benitez and Manager for Entrepreneur Selection and Growth at Endeavor Philippines Johanna Wiese
CEBU, Philippines— In a bid to expand their geographic presence in the country and their network of entrepreneurs, Endeavor Philippines held an open house for Cebu-based entrepreneurs to learn how the network can accelerate their businesses. The highly attended open house is the first event of Endeavor held outside Metro Manila.
“Endeavor Philippines is not new to Cebu-based entrepreneurs as we have a couple of them in our network. We have seen how involved they have been, and we are optimistic and bringing more entrepreneurs like them into Endeavor,” says Manny Ayala, Managing Director of Endeavor Philippines.
The event dubbed, “Scale up Cebu”, gathered panelists from different corporate backgrounds, two of which are part of the Endeavor network. Heading the panel were Cebu-based Endeavor Entrepreneurs Kenneth Cobonpue and Steve Benitez of Bo’s Coffee; both were joined by Joel Binamira, the owner of well-loved lechon restaurant, Zubuchon, and Grace Granlund of GetMore.ph, a cloud-based, client-facing real estate sales platform for real estate developers.
The panel of entrepreneurs gave different perspectives as they shared their own stories of starting up, scaling big, and giving back to their communities. Cobonpue and Benitez, particularly, shared their experience being members of the network, and how Endeavor has allowed them to accelerate their businesses, but at the same time, has given them a platform to mentor other high-impact entrepreneurs in the country.
Investing in more PH entrepreneurs
At the event, Managing Director of Endeavor Philippines, Manny Ayala underscored the importance of developing high-impact entrepreneurs and how they play an instrumental role in boosting the start-up economy.
“High-impact entrepreneurs pay it forward by re-investing their success to other entrepreneurs—whether by helping expand their network, provide mentorship, or by investing their money. What we see consistently across all 27 markets where Endeavor is present is that for an entrepreneur system to thrive and flourish, there needs to be that pool of high-impact entrepreneurs.”
“Scale Up” Cebu saw the attendance of nearly 100 businessmen and entrepreneurs from different industries including Tech, Food & Beverage, Manufacturing, and Advertising. Endeavor Philippines is hopeful to be able to make more entrepreneurs learn about the organization, and eventually grow its network through its continuous efforts in reaching more start-ups.
Endeavor Entrepreneurs are selected through a rigorous screening process involving local and global mentors. Upon selection, Endeavor Entrepreneurs receive support from global and local business mentors from Fortune 500 consulting firms, access to world-class professional and customized services, and growth capital.
Scale Up Cebu, held at A Space Cebu was sponsored by JP Morgan, A Space, Zubuchon, Bo’s Coffee, and Kenneth Cobonpue.
###
About Endeavor
Endeavor is a global non-profit that supports high-impact entrepreneurs around the world. Our “mentor capitalist” model breaks down economic and cultural barrier to entrepreneurship through advising from our network of business leaders, entrepreneurs and investors. Endeavor now supports 1,538 entrepreneurs leading 962 companies in 30 growth markets around the world who have created over 700,000 jobs generating $10 billion in revenues.
Endeavor Philippines launched in January 2015 and currently supports 11 high-impact entrepreneurs and 9 companies in various industries. Entrepreneurs are selected through a rigorous screening process involving local and global mentors. Upon selection, entrepreneurs receive support from global and local business mentors, access to professional services, and growth capital. Endeavor Philippines is supported by generous donors including J.P. Morgan. For more information, visit our website at www.endeavor.org.ph or contact us at hello@endeavor.org.ph.