True to their long-time commitment of supporting Filipino micro, small, and medium enterprises, Rakuten Viber recently gathered budding Pinoy entrepreneurs for a chance to level up their side hustles and small businesses.
In the culmination event of the Pinoy Dream Negosyo campaign, top three participating entrepreneurs from the Raket PH and FoodPH Viber channels were given the opportunity to pitch their business ideas and receive a business grant from Viber and its partners.
Pinoy Dream Negosyo is in line with Rakuten Viber’s mission to educate, enable, and empower Filipino MSMEs by giving them a platform to share their entrepreneurial journey and by providing business owners with the know-how and tools to help implement their business plans, and scale their business operations.
“Pinoy Dream Negosyo didn’t happen overnight. It is a byproduct of the team’s hard work to meet and answer the needs of the Filipinos back in 2020,” said Lana Macapagal, APAC PR Lead for Rakuten Viber. “When there was a surge in users and communities actively using Viber, we asked ourselves how we could help them further. That led us to our goal, which is to champion Filipino MSMEs.”
To help in selecting the GRAND BESTie of DA BEST OF FOOD PH, Viber tapped an esteemed panel of judges, including writer and editor Ruth Navarra-Mayo, restaurateur and celebrity chef Gerick Manalo, and Rakuten Viber’s Business Development Manager Veronica Feleo.
For Raket Mo ‘To of Raket PH, the panel of judges was: Go Negosyo mentor Joseph Arnold De Guzman, celebrity mompreneur Nene Tamayo, and APAC Marketing Director for Rakuten Viber Chris Aguilar.
In the end, two Filipino entrepreneurs received business grants and other special prizes from Viber and its partners. The judges chose Mon Cabsag of The Bistro Box as the GRAND BESTie of FOODPH and Richmond Argosino of Ken Goods and Apparel for Raket Mo ‘To of RaketPH.
Cabsag, during the media QnA segment of the event, said that he will use the prizes to upgrade his business equipment to better serve his customers. “It was a memorable and exhilarating experience for me. I met and interacted with a lot of entrepreneurs like me and gained more perspective about running a business,” he added.
Viber, one of the world’s leading apps for free, secured, and easy communication, has been instrumental in helping small businesses grow and stay connected to their consumers and each other, especially during the pandemic.
Viber saw an increase in the use of its Channels feature during the Covid-19 lockdowns. Viber Channels helped entrepreneurs reach out to potential customers and like-minded individuals, allowing them to grow and manage their businesses.
Among the helpful tools for small businesses were the Raket PH and FoodPH Viber channels.
