Shaping the way for Entrepreneurship

A reflection paper on ASEAN Regional Entrepreneur Report discussion

By: Gizella Marie E. Almeda

Last June 22, I attended the discussion about the ASEAN Regional Entrepreneur Report
for 2015 and 2016 as part of the DLSU Research Congress. The report is supported by the
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), which provides evidence based data and global
benchmarking, for the purpose of creating and fine tuning existing policies. Ulrike Guelich, one
of the authors of the said report, held the seminar. She is an entrepreneur in Germany and at
the same time, a senior researcher and lecturer at Bangkok University, Thailand.

One of the key findings from the report is that despite the Economic growth among
ASEAN countries, about 180 million citizens (or 29% of the ASEAN population) still live in
poverty and there are many members that still need proper infrastructure, energy, and good
education. As a Filipino, I can actually witness it happening here in the Philippines. Even if our
GDP growth increases, part of our population still suffers from poverty. The growth seems to be
felt only by the people who belong to the upper class of the society.

Entrepreneurship is seen to be one of the solutions to alleviate poverty. In Guelichs

report, she said that the Philippines show the highest number of people who see opportunities
and have skills to create a new business followed by Indonesia. But, there are constraints that
need to be addressed first in order to utilize this potential.

First problem is the lack of finance. Poor people have limited access to finance and
credit. The report says that the perceived financial pressure is above average in Thailand (71%),
Indonesia (67.6%) and Malaysia (50%), whereas financial constraints in the Philippines (38.9%)
and especially in Vietnam (19.4%) are considered as below average.

For me, 38.9% is still high. Its nothing as compared to Singapore and other developed
nations. Here in the Philippines, there are a lot of institutions and banks issuing loans, but I
think most poor individuals cannot pass the requirements and background checks as they dont
seem to be credible. Since, most of the poor dont have a permanent income, it will be risky for
the banks to grant them loans as they may not be able to pay it.

Second problem is the Government Policies. The role of the government is to increase
the ease of doing business and to reduce bureaucratic burdens. While this topic is being
discussed, I cant help but think about the situation here in the Philippines. In our country,
there are a lot of requirements and costs before opening up a business. Approximately, it takes
almost a month to complete the requirements for the business.
 Third problem is the capacity of the entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs should be equipped
with proper training and education in their line of business. Good thing here in the Philippines is
that we have the TESDA program which actually helps in educating entrepreneurs in a low cost.

Fourth problem is International Market Openness. Trade barriers should be lessen in

order for us to get a bigger market share, making our products available internationally. Under
ASEAN agreement, we are open to trade among the member countries. But my question here is
that, are we ready for this? Are we really capable of supplying to a bigger market? Are our
products competitive enough? In my opinion as an Economics graduate, instead of importing
our raw goods, we should actually focus on how to use these raw materials that we have in
making a distinct product. Like for example, its better to import banana chips instead of
banana. Its because this has an added value, which could actually generate more profits if we
are to market it effectively.

Fifth problem is the internal market openness. There should be a healthy environment
for the business. Government role is important here, as it should support the growth of our
local businesses. I think, here in the Philippines, we dont actually have enough campaigns to
support our local industries. Foreign brands are always on top of our choices. When I was
young, I actually remember using the term local as something that is fake or cheap.

Lastly, the sixth problem is the cultural and social norms. Culture and social norms
shapes the entrepreneurial attitude of the society. Womens participation in the business is no
longer an issue. According to the Gender Gap Index 2015, participation of women in ownership
of firms and in top management positions is comparably high.

Its actually good to know that women are now becoming entrepreneurs. However on
the latter part of the report it was discussed that women are more likely to quit business than
men. And this could possibly be because there are a lot of responsibilities imposed to women
by the society. Like, for example, women are always expected to take care of the children and
men will be the one to work for the family.

Overall, the report is really informative. It discussed a lot of limitations to

entrepreneurship, which is useful, especially for the government as a tool in improving and
making better policies. It also widens our perspective in looking to other aspects of the society,
like discussing the topics on poverty and gender gaps.