|
OUR
generation and older generations of Filipinos are all
familiar with the sight of the early Chinese peddlers in
the streets of Manila and its suburbs. Their shoulders
weighed down by a meter-long bamboo stick with tin
containers at both ends, full of taho and paraphernalia,
or tiklis in which to load used bottles of
patis and gin or scrap metal. Others, who were a
little higher on the business hierarchy, tended corner
sari-sari stores or operated small hardware stores.
The
street peddlers usually wore white sleeveless shirts
that had turned brown with sweat and dirt. The store or
hardware merchants sometimes wore T-shirts or polo
shirts. They were called beho or ponga,
not in derision, but because they were different. They
showed less concern about looking affluent, like many
Filipinos do, than making money, the real proof of
affluence.
We know
their stories all too well. Those behos or
pongas of yesteryears no longer peddle taho.
They are now the producers. And they no longer deal in
junk. They manufacture the products that are sold in the
bottles they used to buy many years back.
Yes,
those Chinese vendors and others who tended sari-sari
stores are now the Philippine tycoons—building malls and
skyscrapers, operating banks and running factories here
and elsewhere in the world.
The
success stories of virtually all Chinese tycoons can be
summed up in just one word: entrepreneurship. Some of
them started as salaried employees but quickly threw
themselves in the risky, but more rewarding, independent
business ventures. True, they lost their shirts in some
of their adventures, but their perseverance and hard
work carried them to eventual success.
Most of
the prominent tycoons went through hard times before
they reaped their rewards. Not many people are capable
of going through with what they went through.
Fortunately for us, the present times provide us with an
opportunity to succeed with fewer challenges and less
personal sacrifice than those tycoons used to face.
Right
now everything is hot in the Philippine economy.
Unfortunately, only the big companies and investors are
benefiting, because most of us still live under a
culture of fixed salaries and regular employment.
Still,
this is the perfect time to launch an “entrepreneurship
revolution” so that all of us can share in the benefits
of economic growth. Local government units, which have
been copying each other’s job-fair projects, should
shift attention from job generation to entrepreneurship.
The
revolution that I have in mind must start in schools.
Our children must learn and live the culture of
entrepreneurship. When they graduate (or even before
graduation) they would be able to plan and put up their
own businesses, instead of lining up for interviews and
landing jobs with a fixed salary, but with a very slim
chance of getting to a tenth of what entrepreneurs
achieve.
Some
government programs encourage entrepreneurship through
training and financial assistance. Many Filipinos are
already succeeding in putting up and running their own
businesses. However, we need to develop and spread
entrepreneurship faster and wider.
Until it
becomes part of our culture, we will not become a nation
of businessmen. I have drafted a proposed legislation,
tentatively titled Young Graduates/Student
Entrepreneurship Act, which I hope will help in
cultivating a culture of entrepreneurship in our youth.
Some of
the highlights of the proposed measure are:
§
establishment of a fund to provide small loans and other
assistance to young entrepreneurs and graduates who want
to go into business;
§
creation
of a body that will integrate existing government
programs on entrepreneurship, such as those being
implemented by the Department of Trade and Industry,
Small Business Guaranty Fund Corp., Department of
Agriculture, Technology and Livelihood Resource Center (TLRC)
and the Department of Science and Technology; and
§
mandating and institutionalizing product design and
development, technical training and basic accounting
knowledge.
Tycoons
of today did not have access to government-financed
small business loans, or livelihood training from
agencies like TLRC. They had to learn from their
mistakes. Today, we can give our youth all the tools and
assistance they need to learn and succeed in business.
But the first step is to inculcate in their minds the
value and necessity of entrepreneurship.
Let us
all launch the “Entrepreneurship Revolution” now!
You may send your comments/ feedback to
mbvillar_comments@yahoo.com. |
