Among the attendees were representatives of the embassies of Japan, Poland, United Kingdom, Romania, Laos, and Switzerland; and the chambers of commerce of Italy and Switzerland.

Asia Manila Prime Properties, Duty Free Philippines, and Top Line set up booths to showcase their products and services.

“We thank everyone who made this inaugural event successful. We’re thrilled to see such enthusiasm despite the weather. Tonight highlights the drive of Manila’s entrepreneurs to build connections that support growth and resilience,” said Monsi Alfonsi Serrano, publisher of THEPHILBIZNEWS that organized the event.

Palladium sponsors include CDO Foodsphere Inc., Converge ICT Solutions, Duty Free Philippines, ES Print Media Inc., GCash, Meralco, RCBC, The Manor at Camp John Hay, and Top Line Business Development Corp.

Partner sponsors include Abyan Management Services Corp., Asia Manila Prime Properties, Avzea Studios, Barkero Developers, Cleanfuel, FinTech Alliance, FIRST Atkins Holdings Corp. (FAHC), Grab Philippines, IONTEK Power Solutions Corporation, Kin No Tori Kara, Lola Tita De Cacao, Luis Bakery, MPT South Corporation, San Miguel Food and Beverage, Inc., Tinapayan, The Forest Lodge at Camp John Hay, and Top Line-Light Fuels.

Chamber partners include the British, Italian, Nordic, and Swiss Chambers of Commerce in the Philippines.

Japanese entrepreneur Ryo Tateno delivered a presentation on the potential of entering the Philippine market through the franchising of Japan’s leading chicken karaage restaurant, Kin No Tori Kara.

Entrepreneurs’ Night, held at Hotel Okura’s sophisticated event space, featured an open mixer format aimed at enhancing partnerships across industries.

“We designed this event as a venue for participants to freely and in a relaxed manner exchange ideas, build relationships, and explore potential collaborations,” said Serrano.

Hotel Okura’s renowned Japanese buffet, with premium drinks flowing freely, complemented the evening’s relaxed and collegial atmosphere, providing a convivial backdrop to the business-focused gathering.

Attendees praised the event for offering both practical and enjoyable networking experiences, with entrepreneurs and professionals alike engaged in lively discussions throughout the evening.

“We would like to participate in any similar event again,” said Mark Fong, a Chinese-Filipino entrepreneur.

Adding to the excitement were the highly anticipated raffle prizes, which included exclusive overnight stays at The Manor in Camp John Hay and Hotel Okura Manila, lanterns from Pampanga courtesy of Converge, 10 pieces of holiday ham from CDO, 12 cases of San Miguel beer, P10,000 worth of gift certificates courtesy of MPT South, a Canon printer from ES Print Media.

Hotel Okura Manila and THEPHILBIZNEWS look forward to establishing Entrepreneurs’ Night as an annual affair that will bring together leaders and professionals from across sectors.

Its successful conduct Thursday night sets the stage for future gatherings that encourage communication, collaboration, and growth among Manila’s business community.

As many companies and entrepreneurs opt to wait and see given the fact that the pandemic is not just over yet, and another strain of virus just recently discovered.

While the vaccines are ready to be rolled out, many business groups see optimism for the Philippines in 2021, and apparently, the CEO and Founder of Barkero Developers, Vincent Hermosura shares the same forecast.

Speaking to THEPHILBIZNEWS, the young techpreneur is bullish on what will happen to his tech business and in the country’s economy.

“Barkero Developers plans to expand this year. From a team of less than five, we are targeting to double to at least 10. To do this, we are allotting more effort into marketing. Since our biggest source of clients is thru word of mouth. We believe that the best marketing strategy is by providing high-quality output. We would focus on improving our skills, even more, to always make sure we are creating the best quality websites,” Hermosura.

Opportunities and Industries to thrive in the Philippines for 2021

Being no stranger to the dynamics of technology, Hermosura shared his fearless forecast for 2021 not based on what he sees on his crystal ball, but rather on his own experience.

“In my humble opinion, there are many opportunities await for those who are in the Logistics, Technology, Health, and Digital Products. These are the industries that I think will thrive this year.,” the CEO and Founder of Barkero revealed.

“I said it based on the adverse effect of the pandemic and what we need to survive and evenutally head to the road of recovery. Our experience with our clients is our basis. So what I forecasted is backed by empirical data and inisghts, and this is where others can also find the opporunity given the fact that we just started 2021, and down the road, many more opportunites will unveil. But as the saying goes, “The early bird catches the worm”, he added.

Interestingly, Barkero Developers shared their existing clients and they hope to grow more in the process and here are the categories. 

• ^(Health) Cannella Roastery, serves premium roasted coffee beans to established coffee businesses in the country. cannellaroastery.com
• ^(Health) Cardinal Buoy, a company that guides Filipinos in creating a well-planned finances. This group is lead by top registered financial planners in the Philippines. cardinalbuoy.com
• ^(Logistics) STS Logistics, a company that ships packages from South Korea to Philippines. stslogistics.co
• ^{(Digital Products)} Blink Digital,  a customer experience company and we help business leaders to make data-driven decisions, convert those decisions into meaningful action. blink-digital.com
• ^{(Digital Products)} Appcentric Solutions Inc. an enterprise that implements SAP products to the top 500 corporations around the archipelago. appcentric.ph
• ^{(Digital Products)} The Unnamed Collective, a pioneer in mobile film making and photography. theunnamedcollective.com

‘Wait and See’ tactic of entrepreneurs

Observing that many entrepreneurs would rather wait and see before they take a bold step either on expansion and aggressive marketing, Barkero takes a different approach.

“Not to sound selfish, the pandemic has given us the opportunity to expand. It was during the mid-pandemic when we started getting more projects (in addition to our existing but paused projects),” Hermosura said.

“It was a great push for us that we are “on a roll”, but more than that, just like most of us, I have big dreams for myself and my future family. I cannot simply wait to do that. At this season that I am single, this is the only time I have and the best capability to work on my big dreams,” he added.

No Royal Road to Entrepreneurship

“There is no royal road to entrepreneurship. It is not as easy as what you see now that I and other successful entrepreneurs are enjoying. We shed sweat and tears, make personal sacrifices and a lot more and these are part and parcel of our journey,” Hermosura shared.

“Whether you are successful or a budding entrepreneur, find a mentor in each field where you want to succeed. I owe my success to these people who trusted me. I will be forever grateful, I am a nobody with only a big dream and a big desire to achieve this and do the hard work,” he added.

“Your mentors are the ones who will accelerate your growth and guide you to the path towards entrepreneurship. Have the humility to listen. When I reached my first million, one of the first things I did was to call my mentors and asked them what they did when they first achieved their million. Here are the messages I got:

• Stay humble and patient. You will reach far.
• When I earn big time. I just use some of the earnings to eat steak and re-invest the rest.
• Start protecting (insuring) your loved ones.
• Proud of you. Call me again when you reach your Php 5M.

“In my case, my motivation is not the money. Money will come when you are determined to do your business properly with a goal to help. When you help others, then they help you make your business grow. They become your ambassadors,” he explained.

“As the leader of Barkero, what matters to me is how I can make my business grown and also let those who are part of Barkero will also grow and have a bright future ahead,” he added.

“I hope and pray that all our projects in the pipeline will be realized. We at Barkero are targeting to achieve our 100M valuation by 2030 and to grow the company size to at least 10 developers and designers by 2022,” Hermosura concluded.

To know more about Barkero Developers visit https://barkero.com/, or their Facebook account at fb.com/barkerodevelopers.