Entrepreneurship and corporate responsibility

Given the present global economic and political climate, we put in mind that there are those who are underprivileged in terms of employment opportunities and basic necessities to sustain a decent way of life. Within the glamour of these earthly blessings we are endowed with as entrepreneurs and employers, corporate social responsibility, especially for the underprivileged in the communities served, is then needed most.

Corporate social responsibility, or CSR, has been around for a long time. Some firms have been practicing CSR even from the time it was not yet acknowledged as a business tool. In these recent times, however, in the face of an increasing demand for openness and transparency and for companies to account for their environment and social impacts, as well as proven benefits brought about by CSR, more and more businesses have begun institutionalizing CSR.

CSR is often expected of large companies. Indeed, it is multinational corporations that have detailed CSR programs staffed by employees with specific responsibilities and decision-making capacities. Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on the other hand, even though these are recognized as the “growth engines” of the economy, and having considerable impact on job creation and economic development, are not expected to have social responsibility on their agenda.

But SMEs grow to become large companies, and then they have an even greater impact on the local and even global communities. It would be more complicated then to start a CSR program on that much bigger scale. It is therefore important to instill CSR into entrepreneurs while their businesses are still SMEs in scale.

Another good news for us is that there is a growing awareness and appreciation for CSR or in the case of SMEs, social responsibility, or SR. As I noted earlier, more and more firms are engaging in CSR. Even SMEs have incorporated SR into their businesses, in the form of community involvement and other activities.

CSR in the Philippines is fast gaining importance through the implementation of various programs. The Adopt-A-Business Program, for instance, is a project geared toward enriching the knowledge and at the same time developing the business capabilities of student entrepreneurs. A series of lectures leading to a search for the best business plan is the flagship project of the Adopt-A-Business Program. This project assists student entrepreneurs learn the fundamentals of starting and managing a sustainable business, enhances the capabilities of these young entrepreneurs in managing and developing their business, and assists in the implementation of their business proposals by providing them with possible sources of funding/capital.

The Enterprise Development Program for Students is also another project geared toward developing entrepreneurship among the youth, by enhancing their business expertise, entrepreneurial skills and leadership qualities through the conduct of plant visits and the creation of internship programs.

The Youth Entrepreneurship Program (YEP) is another pro-ject that seeks to establish a strong base of small and medium scale enterprises run by young entrepreneurs to help boost the country’s economy. It is a comprehensive strategy that seeks to provide training and assistance for business plan development, access to credit and capital, mentoring, business incubation through the Young Entrepreneurs Industrial Park, market syndication and linking, business information networking and monitoring and assessment.

Networking with at least 20 chambers of commerce in priority regions in the country for the implementation of the YEP has created a major impact on the development of more young and start-up entrepreneurs. The YEP also partners with different government institutions for setting up micro-finance facility for young entrepreneurs including the Department of Agriculture for the Farm Youth Development Program geared to improve rural youth productivity; and the Department of Social Welfare and Development for micro-credit financing for the poor.

The specific objective of these three notable programs is to expose start-up entrepreneurs to the best practices of successful companies and models of good corporate cultures, in order to enrich their knowledge and develop their business potentials, through plant visits; and to help graduating students acquire and develop skills for specific jobs by providing them with actual and hands-on exposure to the day-to-day operations of an enterprise, and at the same time practice what they have learned in school, with the internship program.

One of the positive changes in the priority programs of various governments in the Asia-Pacific region in this time of rapid globalization and industrialization is the focus on small and medium enterprises. If before the concern was with huge foreign direct investments and large corporations, governments now look toward SMEs as the engine of growth of the country.

In the Philippines, SMEs are getting more support than they ever had before through SR efforts of the government. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has been actively implementing the SME Development Plan, through the Bureau of SME Development. In fact, there are SME Centers across the country that cater to SME needs.

Moreover, key legislation with social responsibility components have been put in place such as the Barangay Micro Business Enterprise Law (BMBE) which was passed recently. With the

passage of this law, any barangay in towns micro business enterprises will have a greater chance to graduate into a small enterprise. This law exempts all registered BMBEs from taxes and fees and the minimum wage law. It also provides for a database to be gathered from business registration, which will be made accessible for business matching, trade and investment promotion.

The Magna Carta for SMEs also mandated the establishment of Small Business Guarantee and Finance Corp. or SB Corp. in 1992 whose role is to push for the development of SMEs through financing, credit guarantees and other SME development initiatives. The SB Corp. is mandated to source and adopt development initiatives for globally competitive small and medium enterprises in terms of finance, technology, production, management and business linkages, and to widen in both scope and service reach various alternative modes of financing and credit delivery systems.

There is still the need to promote CSR in enterprise development in a more comprehensive manner. Thus, more changes have to take place, not only within the individuals firms, but in the entire society as well. CSR must be ingrained in each individual in such a way that whether a person joins a large corporation or a small business enterprise, the mentality of social responsibility is retained.

As responsible entrepreneurs, we must take concrete steps in the promotion of CSR in the region. Active participation in this advocacy is, after all, one of the most powerful tools in shaping thoughts, attitudes and values, and therefore society. –Anna Marie Periquet, Manila Times

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