About Town | Entrepreneurs Shine at the First Ever Certified Leapreneur Awards
Employees turned entrepreneurs are honored in the
first Certified Leapreneur Awards held at St. Francis Shangri-la Place last June
19, 2018.
The Certified Leapreneur Awards is the first-ever recognition given to employees
who took the “Leap of faith” to
become full-fledge “Entrepreneurs.”
The award is given to 15 employees-turned-entrepreneurs, whose businesses vary from Agriculture,
Retail, Construction, Hospitality, Services, and eCommerce.
This is an advocacy of Leapreneur Founder, Jerry
Ilao, who himself was once an employee for 7 years in a multinational company. He left his corporate job to become a
full-time entrepreneur in 2007.
After realizing that 7 out of 10 employees want to
start their own business someday, Ilao founded Leapreneur in 2015 to help
employees transition to entrepreneurship. He believes that this will have
positive ripple effects in our economy where one employee-turned-entrepreneur
can hire more employees, and consequently, unemployment is reduced, one
employee at a time.
Currently, Leapreneur has more than 6,000 members,
and many are Overseas Filipino Workers from Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai, Saudi
Arabia, Hong Kong and Japan. Leapreneur has helped many Filipinos through its
various programs such as Leapreneur Insights, Jerry’s Notes, Startup Blueprint
Masterclass Program, Meet-up activities and various Leapreneur Trainings.
“Most
employees and OFWs don’t have any clue how to start their own business. We want to teach them and show that with the
right preparation, and unwavering determination, becoming a successful
entrepreneur is indeed doable,” said Jerry Ilao.
The awardees are: Raymund Layoso of Rayne Laundry
Express, Donna May Tomboc of ZNTR Travel and Tours, Alexander Duca of
CodeSkitch Solutions & Upbeat Multimedia, Cecille Sarmiento of Buttons Up
Ventures Inc., Christine Acosta of C.A. Design and Build, John Carlos
Valdepenas of SV Wellness and Services Corporation, Engr. Jun Tamayo of
Aquasian Water Technologies Inc., Esther Joy Sanchez Villa Vitaliana Farms
Inc., Mark Bryan Asilo of MYNE Inc., Elisa Cruz of Westgate Farm, Jojo Cruzado
of The Laundry Project, Miguel dela Rosa of MPLIFY Marketing Enterprise, Edward
Cruz of Ecomilion Inc., Mark Angelo Hernandez of MOZ Inc., and Ronnie Billones
of BillGreen Enterprises.
Ted Ferrer, Chairman of Generika Group, and Armando
“Butz” Bartolome, President of GMB Franchise Developers, inspired the awardees
and challenged them to go global. Successful
entrepreneurs from the Association of Filipino Franchisers, Inc. (AFFI) are also
present to witness the momentous event.
For more information, you may visit www.leapreneur.com or visit www.facebook.com/groups/leapreneur to join up for FREE.
