The League of Corporate Foundations (LCF) held its tenth Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Expo last July 20-21, 2011 at the SMX Convention Center. With this year’s theme “Taking CSR to New Heights”, they gathered heads of different leading corprations and foundations in the country to share how they enable their businesses to make strategic social investments.
On the second day of the CSR Expo, there were different breakout sessions. One of the sessions was titled “Entrep ka? Sosyal! (Scoial Entrepreneurship: Changing Lives, Sustaining Communities)”. Four guest speakers graced this session – Mr. Mariel Vincent A. Rapisura, President of Social Enterprise Development Partnerships, Inc. (SEDPI); Fr. Xavier Alpasa, SJ, Social Entrepreneur for Hotel Maya; Mr. Brian Avanceña from the advertising agency, Creative Juice Manila; and Mr. Danilo Songco, President and CEO of PinoyME Foundation.
Mr. Rapisura opened the session by explaining the concept of Social Entrepreneurship. He shared a number of concepts cited most in defining Social Entrepreneurship, but he focused on the concept that Social Entrepreneurship is not limited by resources. Social entrepreneurship therefore involves the promotion of enterprises that create wealth benefiting not just a person but the public at large or the marginalized sectors of the society.
Fr. Xavier presented Hotel Maya in Isla Culion, Palawan an example of a social enterprise. It was put up by a Jesuit-run school, the Loyola College of Culion, to be a teaching facility for the study of eco-tourism. Mr. Songco wrapped up the session by tying up concepts of CSR and social entrepreneurship.