I can’t believe that it has already been over (4) years since the very first Rags2Riches RIIR Collection was launched! At that time, it was just a vision and a dream – merging social cause with high fashion, the Payatas women with the beautiful designs of Filipino icon Rajo Laurel.

Rags2Riches now goes full circle. After working with designers Amina Aranaz-Alunan and Oliver Tolentino for the past couple of years, the latest collection – dubbed Athletenique – is once again in collaboration with Rajo.

Here are the pictures from the event (thank you Ed San Juan and Perry Villa for the pics!)

The launch was held in the exquisite Ayala Museum.

RIIR Nanay Artisans – the driving force and creators of the bags – live up as fashion icons as well!

The RIIR Athletenique Collection launch was made possible by corporate partner, Metrobank (thank you!)

RIIR President (and ahem, my wife) Reese Fernandez-Ruiz gives an update on Rags2Riches.

Designer Rajo Laurel explains the inspiration behind the Athletenique Collection.

Host Kara, Rajo, and Models displaying the Athletenique Pieces.

The wonderful backdrop was made by artist Leroy New!

The Rags2Riches Team!

Reese and I have this tradition of this duo pic after every R2R launch

Gawad Kalinga and the I Love Iloilo Movement partnered with SeaOil for “EntrepreneurShift”  - a conference advocating for a Social Enterprise movement in Iloilo. Subtitled, ‘How Social Enterprise is Changing the World’, it brought together different advocates of social enterprise to share their perspectives and experience  in this field (myself and Reese included :p). The invitation was given out by lead organizer (and Iloilo councilor) Jason Gonzales, a friend whom I last met in the Peace & Equity Foundation Social Enterprise Conference held in November 2011.

The conference was like a reunion of sorts as Reese and I spoke with friends and colleagues Tito Tony Meloto (Gawad Kalinga Founding Father), Mark Lawrence Cruz (Gawad Kalinga), Dylan Wilk (Human Nature), Noreen Bautista (Jacinto Y Lirio), Rico Gonzalez (Managing Director of xchange, as well as a Hapinoy Board Member/Advisor) and Chit Juan (ECHOStore). Rounding up the group was Mark Yu, CFO of sponsoring company SeaOil, himself already getting more and more immersed in the Social Enterprise field.

An interesting factoid was that the venue was held inside an SM Cinema (hence the large backdrop behind the pictures below), and must have accommodated an audience of at least 1,000 Ilonggos – students, government officials, local businessmen and entrepreneurs, academe, and NGO/social enterprise practitioners.

Mark Lawrence Cruz, one of the leaders of Gawad Kalinga, did the honors of hosting the event. He is certainly one of the most passionate advocates of GK, poverty alleviation, nation-building, and social entrepreneurship.

Noreen Bautista, co-founder of Social Enterprise Jacinto Y Lirio, started the series of talks. The main message she shared was this – NOW is the ideal time to be young and to start a social enterprise. This is not only evidenced by the impact that J&L has done through community development and eco-fashion, but also further reinforced by young social entrepreneurs in GK’s Center for Social Innovation. In her talk, she also reminded that we first met when I myself shared about social entrepreneurship in her Ateneo Student Leaders Assembly (ASLA) batch; In a sense, it felt as if things had come full circle, and it was certainly great to see Noreen inspiring the next generation of social entrepreneurs.

Tito Tony Meloto, Founding Father of Gawad Kalinga and national icon delivered the keynote. The visionary TM found himself back home to Iloilo where he has his roots (in fact, the first five minutes of his talk were done in native Ilonggo). He then shared the story, mission, of vision of Gawad Kalinga – on poverty alleviation and nation-building – and how it is now moving from housing/community development into social entrepreneurship. Whereas the first phase of GK focused on providing land for the landless and homes for the homeless, the current phase now focuses on enterprise and livelihood. This has come to life through the Enchanted Farm – a social enterprise incubator / platform – the first site of which is in Angat, Bulacan. I’ve visited it quite a number of times and I must say that exciting times are ahead in this space.

Mark Yu, CFO of Seaoil, then took the stage to deliver his insights on the emerging model that is social enterprise. I like Mark’s framework of how it merges two distinct yet related paradigms – that of Making a Million (Business) and Making a Difference (Philanthropy) – and making it work as a unified whole. True to form, Mark shared a well thought-out perspective , an example of which is how the value chain of customers-employees-suppliers-shareholders-community are reconfigured with the community as the primary stakeholder. Reese and I have known Mark from the Asia Society Philippines21 Young Leaders Network, and I for one am very happy that he is now beginning to apply his mastery of business into this field. (We talked a lot later that day on models and principles in social enterprise, and let me just tell you that it was quite the head-trip :p)

Dylan Wilk, co-founder of Human Nature, was as usual charming and funny, but still very effective in sharing the story of Human Nature, most certainly one of the most successful and scaled-up social enterprises in the Philippines. He started his talk by sharing the story of his transition from one of the richest young men in the UK into being one of GK’s staunches advocates and leaders – living proof that happiness is not always found in material wealth alone. In fact, he not only married to the GK cause, he literally married the daughter of Tito Tony, Anna Meloto-Wilk who is also the other leader of Human Nature (along with Dylan and Camille Meloto). Human Nature’s principles are Pro-Poor, Pro-Environment, and Pro-Philippines, and it is indeed gratifying to see how they are rewriting the rules of business as they further grow.

Reese Fernandez-Ruiz, President of Rags2Riches, talked of R2R, but wove it intricately with her message of interconnectivity – of how the decisions we make inadvertently affect the lives of others. She herself knows this from fact, having been awarded a scholarship by individuals whom she has never even met! That generosity certainly led to her Ateneo education which in turn molded her into the person that she is today. I myself firmly believe her perspective as well (and not only because she’s my wife :p) -

Rico Gonzalez then talked on the topic of navigating the start-up stage of social enterprises. Funnily enough, the topic requested of Rico was ‘avoiding the pitfalls of social enterprise’ – hinting of his pragmatic and well-studied approach to things. (On the side, Rico and I work closely together in Hapinoy, and I must say that his perspective and help has been instrumental in sharpening our thinking and actions). He talked on building business models (check out www.businessmodelgeneration.com) but perhaps the line I take with me from his talk was this – ‘Huwag mong isipin kong mahirap, isipin mo kung mahalaga’ (Don’t ask if it is difficult, ask if it is worth doing).

I then shared on – what else but Hapinoy of course! The organizers wanted me to talk on Innovation in Social Enterprise, and so I touched on how we can imagine and innovate on simple things – Hapinoy+ Stores from the humble sari-sari (sira-sira) store, Rags2Riches’ High-end Eco-Stylish Bags from recycled scrap, and Gawad Kalinga’s revitalized communities from slum communities.

Chit Juan rightfully ended the conference, touching on a lot of key points that all the previous speakers had elucidated on during the day. Chit of course has been one of the pioneers of social entrepreneurship (having gone the transition from being an entrepreneur-leader) – it just really seems that it is in her blood and DNA! Her social enterprise, ECHOStore, has now  diversified into multiple lines – touching on retail, community development, a design lab, and now even ECHO markets. She’s relentless – a true social entrepreneur.

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To end, I just want to give a heartfelt thanks to the organizers – the hospitality and warmth was just so inexplicably tangible! Jason, Rose, Churchille, Tahani, Joey, Tajen, Frances, Chris … you were such gracious hosts and hostesses – thank you so much and hope to see you in the upcoming Bootcamp in GK’s Enchanted Farm!

Hapinoy speaks of good news once again as it makes the finals of the 2012 Sankalp Awards, the largest Social Enterprise Awards in India. It recognizes some of the most innovative, sustainable and scalable businesses in India and in Southeast Asia.

Hapinoy supports sari-sari storeowners in rural areas through education, personal development programs and other business opportunities. As of 2010, there almost 200 Hapinoy Community Stores and thousands of Suki Stores in Batangas, Bicol, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon, Bondoc Peninsula, Rizal, Bulacan, and Mindoro.

MicroVentures Foundation Chairman and Co-founder Bam Aquino says, “We are so blessed with this international recognition. This nomination will help us bring the Hapinoy Program to the world.”

Last year, the Hapinoy Program was awarded by the United Nations Project Inspire and Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship.

Hapinoy hopes to add to its roster the Sankalp Award for South East Asia. The Sankalp Awards focuses on 5 high impact sectors in India and South East Asia – Agriculture, Food and Rural Business, Education, Clean Energy, Health, Water & Sanitation and Technology for Development.

Each year, Sankalp receives 100+ nominations from for-profit emerging businesses across the five sectors mentioned. This year, they’ve expanded to South East Asia and Hapinoy is on their list.

“We at Hapinoy are very humbled and honored with this recognition from Sankalp. We look forward to sharing the Hapinoy program as a new way to empower women microentrepreneurs while simultaneously bringing solutions to the base-of-the-pyramid,” explains Mark Ruiz, Managing Director of MicroVentures Inc. and Co-founder of Hapinoy remarks.

Ruiz will be representing Hapinoy during the awarding in Mumbai at the annual Sankalp Summit from April 11-13. The Sankalp Forum is a unique and collaborative platform designed to catalyze impact investments into sustainable and scalable social enterprises globally. Sankalp today is one of the largest gatherings of social entrepreneurs, impact investors, policy makers and other stakeholders.

As the Hapinoy team looks forward with gratitude towards the Sankalp Awards, Hapinoy already shares this achievement to its partners, the Hapinoy nanays and to all Filipinos.

Winners will be announced on April 13, 2012. For more information on Hapinoy, visit www.hapinoy.com

More info here http://blog.sankalpforum.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/FINALISTS.pdf

I recently gave a talk in TEDx Xavier School;

The conference’s theme was “Innovation Built on Tradition” and as I mulled over it, I of course couldn’t help but relate it to our work in Hapinoy – on how the humble, traditional sari-sari store is slowly but surely being reinvented through our program.

This then totally coincided with a simple yet profoundly powerful idea that Hapinoy is living out – the idea that Small is the New Big*
(*no relation to Seth Godin’s book)

I could write about it, but I realized that it would be infinitely easier to just post the video. Let me know whatchathink :

Co-founder and Managing Director of MicroVentures Inc., Mark Ruiz, shares how he is able to accomplish his day-to-day tasks for their flagship program Hapinoy with the help of the BlackBerry Bold 9900.

When we were starting HAPINOY, there was a proverbial fork-in-the-road – should we register as a for-profit or a non-profit?

At that time, we knew that the social mission was at the heart of the about-to-be-formed company. But we also knew that we wanted the discipline of business to permeate how we would act and decide and grow. This then led to the decision to create MicroVentures Incorporated – a for-profit business that is driven to fundamentally help microentrepreneurs (trivia – the term ‘social enterprise’ was definitely not yet in vogue).

Fast-forward (3) years later, and we realize that the legal framework in the Philippines (and around the world for that matter) is still not ideal for social enterprises. When you register with the Securities and Exchange Commission, you can only register as a for-profit or a non-profit – and swinging either way forces you into a box that unfortunately doesn’t capture the specific needs of SE’s. After all, there is a decidedly for-profit component (all business and commercial-oriented activities) and non-profit aspects as well (capacity-building, advocacy).

While policies and new legal forms are a work-in-progress, a lot of social enterprises are adapting by becoming Hybrid Social Enterprises – two symbiotic and distinct enterprises that support both the mission and the business aspects. This has given birth to our MicroVentures Foundation :

MicroVentures Inc focuses on all for-profit and commercial activities – distribution, marketing research, and activation; while MicroVentures Foundation focuses on training, capacity-building, and advocacy.

http://www.world-entrepreneurship-forum.com/index.php//News/News/Entrepreneurs-for-the-World-Awards-2011

Four role-models whose entrepreneurial achievements and commitment to society make them for entrepreneurship creating wealth and social justice have been awarded the Entrepreneurs for the World Awards at this year’s World Entrepreneurship Forum held in Singapore.

The Young Entrepreneur Award, a new award category for entrepreneurs below 35, has recognised Ms Reese Fernandez, Co-Founder of Rags2Riches in the Philippines. Her venture has revolutionised women’s business practices and lives by transforming rugs from recycling scrap material into fashion handbags, eyeglasses or wine-bottle holders, sought by high-revenue customers, bringing revenues and self-confidence to employed women.

This year’s winner of the Social Entrepreneur Award is Mr William Drayton, Founder of Ashoka, USA. Mr Drayton was the first person to coin the term “social entrepreneurship” and started Ashoka in 1980. The not-for-profit organisation is established in 70 countries and supports the work of 3,000 Ashoka Fellows, selected for their impact on their social and business environments, in replicating and scaling their ventures so as to have a global impact.

The winner of this year’s Politician Award is Ms Anneli Hulthen, Mayor of Göteborg, Sweden. She is Mayor of an entrepreneurial city that has implemented several initiatives, such as “Expedition Forward”, “Business Emergency Programme” or “Brew House Incubator” widely praised among European cities for their positive impact on entrepreneurs’ ventures and the related creation of jobs.

Finally, this year’s Entrepreneur for the World Award has been given for the first time to a company, FOSUN International. The Shanghai-based conglomerate with a wide array of activities such as pharmaceuticals or healthcare, being present on the global front through its 7.1% stake in Club Med, generates an annual revenue of 4.5 billion euros and has perfectly aligned its strategy to answer Chinese population’s social needs (such as ageing population or new consumption habits).

The winners received their trophies, designed by the French jeweler Korloff, at a Gala Dinner graced by Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Teo Chee Hean. The World Entrepreneurship Forum, drawing 130 selected entrepreneurship experts and thought leaders from 60 countries is being held for the first time in Singapore this year, from 2-5 November on the theme “Entrepreneurship – A Driver for Innovation and Technology”. A public gathering in NTU on 4 November morning allowed 450 persons from Singapore Business Community to benefit from the most outstanding entrepreneurial stories of Forum Members.

The RIIR Oliver Tolentino MASAYA Collection :

RIIR KANTINARES
Molded colorblock clutch in hand-woven Kantinares fabric accented with knitted cotton crochet arc. Kamagong bar accent with interior magnetic closure. Quilted cotton lining with interior pocket.

KANTINARES CLUTCH
Molded clutch in hand-woven Kantinares and Ikat fabric accented with knitted cotton crochet arc. Kamagong bar accent with interior magnetic closure. Quilted cotton lining with interior pocket.

RIIR HIYAS
Colorblock clutch in knitted cotton x-small basket weave with hand-woven Kantarines fabric. Zipper closure with tassel and native nut accent. Cotton lining with interior zip pocket.

RIIR BANIG CLUTCH
Molded clutch in knitted cotton x-small basket weave. Colorful Pandan leave (Banig) flap with magnetic snap closure. Quilted cotton lining.

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All these exquisite products are now available in Shangri-La Gift Shops, Firma, and Oliver Tolentino’s Botique Shop.