Mandaue Business Month is back after two-year hiatus

Mandaue City, Cebu (Google maps)

CEBU CITY — After a two-year hiatus, the Mandaue Business Month (MBM) returned this month, hoping to jumpstart local business activities in the industrial city of Mandaue.

Kelie Ko, president of the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), described this year’s event as a “coming out party” following the pandemic that entered the country in 2020 and the devastation brought by Typhoon Odette (international name: Rai) in December 2021.

“We put in certain considerations for health.. But definitely, we want to see it (Covid-19) in the past. It is a coming out party and we want to show the public the confidence we have of the economy being revived,” Ko said.

This year’s theme is “Ushering the great reset: riding the tailwinds of change.”

Ko said the theme was inspired by the World Economic Forum, which aims to improve the state of the world in the wake of a devastating pandemic.

Ko also believed that the businesses in Cebu would continue to improve by the end of the year. In fact, he said most businesses in Cebu are back to “normal” except for the tourism sector, which is still reeling from the effects of the pandemic and Odette.

MCCI is one of the country’s biggest business organizations. It is based in Mandaue City which houses most of the industries and factories in Cebu Province, including the iconic San Miguel Brewery.

“Again we have a certain level of confidence (in pushing through with the MBM) because for us, we are watching the hospitalization rates and they seem to be manageable,” Ko said.

The outdoor activities include “Trees Brew Life” organized by San Miguel Brewery Incorporated. The program was aimed to transform an old dumpsite into a park full of trees in Barangay Umapad, Mandaue City.

The MBM will also organize the Dragon Boat Regatta 2022 competition, including Philippine Accessible Disability Services (PADS) members. It will be the first-ever “cross-disability” adaptive dragon boat racing program in the Philippines.

The MCCI will also host a Business Summit in August. Its speakers include Fernando Zobel de Ayala, chief executive officer and president of Ayala Corporation; Ana Maria Aboitiz-Delgado of the Aboitiz Group; and Matteo Lanzafame of the Asian Development Bank, among others.

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