The 20th Mindanao Business Conference, a key annual event aimed at strengthening trade and investment, will run from September 7 to 9 in Pagadian City.
“MinBizCon” is the premier platform for showcasing Mindanao’s investment opportunities and fostering a more competitive economic environment.
“It’s where business leaders, policymakers and investors meet for the purpose of making Mindanao a better place in which to do business,” said Edwin Capili, vice president for Mindanao of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI).
The conference is being organized by PCCI with support from the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA); the local governments of Pagadian City and Zamboanga del Sur Province; the Departments of Trade and Industry, Tourism, and Agriculture; the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), through its Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program; and other partners.
“The focus this year will be on public-private partnerships, particularly in the tourism, infrastructure, mining and agribusiness sectors,” said Mercedes Lourdes Quisumbing, president of the event’s host organization, the Pagadian City-ZDS Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Inc.
“Mindanao has been buoyed by the competitiveness of its agricultural products in the export market,” said Sec. Luwalhati Antonino, chairperson of MinDA. “But to secure Mindanao’s place in the global economy, we have to achieve a higher level of regional economic integration—and in that regard public-private partnerships are crucial.”
Antonino will give a special presentation at the MinBizCon on government economic development priorities reflected in the “MinDA 2020 Agenda.”
Plenary sessions will highlight successful public-private models in the areas of infrastructure, tourism, and agricultural production.
Capili said that following MinBizCon tradition, the PCCI will present the Mindanao Business Policy Agenda to President Benigno Aquino at the close of the conference.
The formulation of the policy recommendations contained in the Agenda was initiated through broad-based regional consultations held earlier this year by PCCI in the cities of Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro and General Santos, in collaboration with MinDA and USAID-GEM.
Later, at a series of roundtables held in Manila, Mindanao business leaders and Cabinet officials fine-tuned these recommendations—as well as private sector commitments–aimed at improving key business sectors.
The presentation to the President will also include a review of the status of resolutions submitted in last year’s business policy agenda.
“To draw more investment into Mindanao, we are showing that the region’s concerns are being heard and addressed at the national level,” Capili said.
The Mindanao Business Conference is the largest of the five area conferences organized by PCCI. The others are held in North Luzon, South Luzon, the National Capital Region and the Visayas, leading up to the annual Philippine Business Conference.
“We are also looking forward to showing MinBizCon participants the best that Zamboanga del Sur has to offer, particularly in agricultural production,” said Quisumbing. “Our city government is eager to attract firms engaged in mango, banana and coconut processing.”
The conference side events will include a trade fair highlighting the products of the Zamboanga peninsula provinces, as well as tours to lake and mountain resorts near Pagadian City, Quisumbing said.
The city is less than an hour by land from Ozamis City’s RO-RO port, and within easy reach of Cebu and Bohol by ferry. There are regular commercial flights to Pagadian from Manila and Cebu.
