Cebuano stude bags biz award

Cebuano stude bags biz award
By Jill B. Tatoy
Sun.Star Cebu
June 1, 2011

A student from Cebu won in an international business competition.

Mikhail Sean Redula Bellones, a business administration student of the Cebu Institute of Technology (CIT) University, came up with the best environment-friendly business proposal to win a category in the Business in Development (BID) Challenge Philippines, initiated by the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) and Citibank.

His partner in the project is Noel Christian Cruz, an entrepreneur from Northern Samar.

Bellones, 25, of Tabunok, Talisay City, is one of the only two students that made it to the final round in the competition. Cruz, on the other hand, owns a buy-and-sell business in Catarman, Northern Samar.

Entrepreneurs
The BID Challenge Philippines offers entrepreneurs the opportunity to develop and execute business plans that improve the living conditions of poor Filipinos. It encourages entrepreneurs to come up with innovative business concepts and provides mentoring in the implementation of the plan.

Cruz and Bellones’s business plan, Junk TV Reconditioned, was one of two proposals that received the Shell Green Enterprise Award. The other awardee is Leona Fe Edelloran’s Water Lily Bags.

Cruz and Bellones proposed to recondition television sets manufactured in the 80s and 90s so that these can be used again.

Bellones told Sun.Star Cebu in a phone interview that low-income households would find the reconditioned TV sets affordable.

Proud
Alexander Franco Delantar, dean of the college of commerce of CIT-University, said he is proud of Bellones.

“We were impressed by his achievement because this is something that not everyone can attain. He is the only Cebuano that got the award. This is something that our school is very proud of,” said Delantar.

Bellones will be graduating in March 2012.

While CIT University is known for its engineering program, he said he hopes that his recognition will build up the school’s business- and commerce-related programs.

The BID Challenge held the awarding of 2010 winners at Rockwell Center in Makati City last Monday.

Bellones received P75,000. He also entered into a memorandum of agreement with the BID to implement the Junk TV proposal.

BID began in the Netherlands. It was launched in the Philippines last 2006 by Manny Pangilinan.

The competition categories are businesses with impact on the bottom of the pyramid, Shell Green Enterprise Award and Citibank BID Challenge.