Jollibee Group among Forbes’ World’s Best Employers
For the third straight year, Jollibee Group is named among the World’s Best Employers by Forbes this 2022.
Jollibee Group is the highest-ranking restaurant company in the global listing, and the highest-ranking Philippine-based company.
Jollibee Group’s ranking rose to 106th this year, a significant improvement from 239th and 256th in 2020 and 2021, respectively, affirming the company as a world-class employer of choice.
The Jollibee Group was also recognized by Forbes as among the World’s Most Female Friendly Companies in 2021. It is also the first-ever Philippine-based company to be recognized with the Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award in 2020.
W.Mall opens doors to Muntinlupa community
The second W.Mall opened recently in Muntinlupa, coinciding with the 30th anniversary celebration of WalterMart Supermarket. Conveniently located along the West Service Road, W.Mall Muntinlupa stays true to its promise of bringing a complete and happy shopping experience to customers.
Positioned to be a premium, one-stop destination for every family’s needs, W.Mall Muntinlupa offers a wide selection of anchor stores, food choices, services and wellness. The two-storey W.Mall serves the diverse Muntinlupa community with FREE parking perk to the car-riding public and provides even more reasons for customers to love going to this newest community mall.
Major anchors include WalterMart Supermarket, known for its quality fresh produce, food to go and a wide array of local and international food products; and the W Department Store, where one can find Fashion Brands for Less, Everyday for the entire family.
W.Mall offers a wide selection of food choices, services and wellness stores like Abenson, Mr. DIY, Samsung, Watsons, KFC, Chatime, Famous Belgian Waffle, Dunkin Donuts, Rulls, Japan Home, Focus Richman, and more to come.
`Madigiskarteng kabataang agripreneur’
Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (AFI) and Go Negosyo welcomed 60 “madigiskarteng kabataang agripreneur” in an online event last October 3.
The program aims to support, engage, and encourage the youth to be involved and participate in the agriculture sector.
The 60 young agripreneurs were chosen from a pool of 117 applicants who underwent a rigid screening process which included one-on-one interviews in order to check their interest in building and improving their agribusiness and organizational skills.
The participants will undergo six months of training covering a total of 12 modules including training on Entrepreneurial Mind-setting and Values Formation, Business Model Canvas, Marketing 101 and Digitalization, Agri Product Development, Farm Operations Management, AgriSupply and Value Chain, Basic Accounting and Bookkeeping and Business Plan Development.
Free fiber broadband connection
Converge ICT Solutions Inc. and the local government of Bataan recently launched a program that will see 500 homes in Bataan connected via fiber to access educational resources and materials at no cost to beneficiaries.
The local and municipal government of Dinalupihan, Bataan , together with Converge, marked the start of the project in a ceremony at Pagalanggang National High School, whose students will be the first beneficiaries of the program in its pilot implementation.
The provincial government launched the pilot program by providing the Converge fiber connectivity to include 50 scholars of the Pagalanggang National High School. Overall, the project aims to connect over 100,000 homes for students and 6,000 faculty in the province.
Pru Life UK wins 2 Stevie Awards
Pru Life UK was named the Silver Stevie awardee in two categories — Communications or PR Campaign of the Year for Corporate Responsibility, and Achievement in Thought Leadership — in the 19th Annual International Business Awards (IBA).
Awardees were honored during a gala banquet at the InterContinental London Park Lane Hotel, on October 15 in London.
Pru Life UK was recognized for two of its Environmental, Social, and Governance initiatives, the Cha-Ching financial literacy program for children and for initiating discourse on the impact of climate change on health and financial security through its independently commissioned study, titled “How will climate change affect the health of Filipinos in the next decade”.
Cha-Ching is an award-winning program developed by Prudence Foundation and implemented by Pru Life UK in the Philippines, which aims to educate the Filipino youth on the core money management concepts of Earn, Save, Spend and Donate. As the Cha-Ching program celebrates 10 years of outreach effort, the program has already reached over 870,000 children via the Cha-Ching curriculum to promote financial literacy.
Another initiative focusing on financial security is the 2021 pioneering study that explores the potential health impact and financial risks of climate change.
UnionBank teams up with Noel Bazaar
Union Bank of the Philippines has partnered with Cut Unlimited, Inc., the creator of the long-running Noel Bazaar, to promote cashless payments .
The partnership was made official through a signing ceremony last October 6 at the UnionBank Plaza in Pasig City, and is in line with UnionBank’s goal of helping the country’s micro, small, and medium enterprise sector as part of the Bank’s “Tech-UP Pilipinas” advocacy.
UnionBank will help make payments easier and more convenient for shoppers at the bazaar by making its award-winning online banking features accessible to the participating merchants. Through these, customers can then pay for their purchases digitally, allowing seamless transactions between them.
Noel Bazaar will be held in three different venues: Okada Manila (November 11 to 13), The World Trade Center in Pasay City (November 25 to 30), and the Filinvest Tent in Alabang (November 18 to 20 and December 16 to 18).
Lalamove partners with DTI
Lalamove announced its strengthened partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry Region 3 (DTI-3) for the upcoming Likha ng Central Luzon Trade Fair.
The partnership sees Lalamove’s continued support of the government’s efforts to empower micro, small and medium enterprises under the One Town, One Product (OTOP) Philippines stimulus program.
This entails the provision of business logistics solutions to businesses across provinces within Central Luzon — namely Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales — that are designed to drive growth, widen reach, and boost economic performance.
Likha ng Central Luzon Trade Fair, a major regional trade promotion activity jointly organized by DTI-3 and Philexport-3 aims to gather and champion the region’s entrepreneurs. The annual event will run its 24th edition on October 26 to 30 at the Mega Trade Hall, SM Megamall.
Cotabato Light Sitio Electrification Program
Cotabato Light linemen fixing the main distribution lines at Brgy. Limbo, Sultan Kudarat.
Cotabato Light and Power Co. has successfully completed the energization of more than 1,500 households within its franchise area to date through the Sitio Electrification Program (SEP). The project covers Cotabato City and parts of Sultan Kudarat and Datu Odin Sinsuat Municipality in the province of Maguindanao.
The SEP is a national strategy aimed at helping boost the country’s total electrification by connecting sitios and barangays to the grid.
The company has invested around P37 million for the SEP, put up more than 1,000 poles, and spent over 8,800 man-hours for better delivery of electricity services.
Once completed, the rural electrification program will have provided electricity for more than 1,600 households, opening more doors and livelihood opportunities to the community.
St. Luke’s celebrates 119th anniversary
As part of its 119th anniversary celebration, and its endeavor to take a holistic approach in green healthcare, St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC) recently introduced sustainability efforts centered on helping address the country’s plastic waste pollution, and empowering partner communities with livelihood opportunities as part of its Culture of Care CSR program.
The institution has launched a distinctive line of environment friendly room amenities specially made by partner communities from Zamboanga, Aklan, Bicol, La Union, Benguet, Kalinga Apayao, Sagada, Cavite, Rizal, Batangas and Payatas.
Among these locally made, eco-friendly products are handcrafted bath soaps, shampoo and conditioner bars, soap dishes, handwoven blankets, burlap slippers, coco sugar and drenched coffee, that ensures patients’ comfort, while reducing the adverse environmental impact and waste generated during their stay, and providing partner communities livelihood programs that can improve their quality of life.
Mastercard, Grab boost entrepreneurship
Mastercard and Grab announced the “Small Business, Big Dreams” regional program to digitally upskill gig economy workers and small businesses in Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
The collaboration is part of Strive Community, a global philanthropic initiative developed by the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and Caribou Digital.
The “Small Business, Big Dreams” regional program includes the launch of two online business courses for Grab’s driver and delivery-partners aspiring to start new businesses, and small business owners seeking to grow in a competitive digital economy. It aims to enable small businesses to reach their full potential by supporting them to digitalize their operations, unlock their access to financial services and more effectively participate in the digital economy.
The two new online courses, namely the Driver Entrepreneurship Toolkit and the Small Business Toolkit, were created based on survey insights from over 885 driver-partners and 100 small businesses in the country.
Holiday season shopping
MetroMart is holding a series of Piso Sales this October, leading to the holiday season.
First up is the Shopwise Piso Sale, exclusively via MetroMart this October 21 to 24 and Landmark Piso Sale, exclusively via MetroMart, October 24 to 27. Premium items can be purchased for only P1, and each of the sale days will have the 1-peso products from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Next on the lineup is S&R Piso Sale, exclusively via MetroMart on October 28 to 31 and The Marketplace Piso Sale, exclusively via MetroMart scheduled for November 18 to 21.
