By Jade C. Zaldivar
Hapee toothpaste mogul Cecilio Kwok Pedro is an advocate of teaching entrepreneurship as early as high school.
During his talk on corporate social responsibility, CEO and president of Lamoiyan Corporation Pedro said the Philippines needs more entrepreneurs to be able to generate more jobs and alleviate the country’s means of living.
In answer to a question on what entrepreneurs can do to cushion the wave of graduates this March, Pedro urged members of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. to “lead the way for budding entrepreneurs.”
“Schools train students to become employees. I want you to go into schools and educate kids to become entrepreneurs. And much better if we start early. Let’s start in high school,” Pedro said during the 2nd General membership meeting of the DCCCII at Pinnacle Hotel and Suites.
“A few years after college graduation, people meet up again and ask each other ‘Saan ka nagta-trabaho?’ (Where do you work?) If it’s with a multi-national company then bilib na bilib pa sila (they’re impressed). But then you know what? The question should be ‘Ano ang negosyo mo?’ (What’s your line of business?)” he said.
Pedro said that more entrepreneurs “are what our country needs” adding that “starting entrepreneurs are the country’s future heroes.”
“When you become an employer you become responsible to a person. You pay him in exchange for his work and in turn he is able to live with dignity and he’s able to feed other people, his family, who are dependent on him or her. What can be bad about that? And the more people you hire, the more people you can help,” Pedro said.
“These micro entrepreneurs, they may be small now but they will eventually grow. They are the future employers, job generators. A sari-sari store can eventually become big with correct management and hard work,” he told members of the DCCCII.
During his talk, Pedro highlighted how Filipinos are world-class and how hard work can bring people ‘on top.’
“Filipinos are world class. You can be world class. Just because we have different appearances doesn’t mean one can be better than the other. Filipinos are the world’s best marketers. Once there’s determination in us, people of different nationalities can’t take it away from us,” Pedro said.
Pedro said business requires hard work and that “sleep hard and nothing will happen to you.”
“I do not know anyone who has gotten to the top without hard work. That is the recipe. It will not always get you to the top, but it will get you pretty near,” Pedro said quoting former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
