Celebrating Women—Asia Leaders Awardees; Grab Philippines and AstraZeneca graced the Women 2022 Entrepreneurship Summit organized by Go Negosyo. The outstanding entrepreneurs took the spotlight last March 11 as they shared how they inspired other women to start their own ventures based on inclusive, innovative, and sustainable business models.

“We need to inspire and motivate our women entrepreneurs,” said Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Jose Ma. “Joey” Concepcion 3rd, who pointed out that women make up nearly 90 percent of micro and small enterprises in the country.

The summit was likewise a venue where Filipina entrepreneurs linked with potential business partners through an online Women Enterprise Enablers Virtual Expo.

Grab Philippines Managing Director Grace Vera Cruz was part of the panelists while the first woman President of AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals Lotis Ramin was awarded along with 16 other different women from different industries for their own ventures based on inclusive, innovative, and sustainable business models.

The event has been held since 2007 and has recognized more than 200 Filipina entrepreneurs. This year’s event attracted more than 15,000 online participants and was supported by some of the country’s largest conglomerates, business organizations, and foreign missions.

Attended by its Managing Director, Grace Vera Cruz—Grab, Southeast Asia’s leading ride-hailing service and app, received Innovative and Tech Company of the Year for Services honors in the recently concluded Asia Leaders Awards 2021, further cementing its important and groundbreaking solutions to improve the commuter experience while decongesting urban traffic.

Creating Safe Communities for All

Midyear, Grab Philippines launched its innovative online platform GrabAcademy, in collaboration with Microsoft, to give riders and delivery partners nationwide “free and equitable access to new learning and development opportunities to ensure competitiveness in a digital economy.”

“The first step to genuine empowerment is economic empowerment. Giving [women] the means to provide for their own needs and the needs of their families opens the door to larger areas of fulfillment and the expansion of their dreams,”

Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo said in her message during the event.

AstraZeneca won the Company of the Year Award for Health & Wellness category recently also under Asia Leaders Awards and also part of the Top 50 Rising Tigers in the Asia Pacific to be presented this March 22, 2022, at Grand Hyatt Hotel in Taguig.

AstraZeneca is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with its headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, England. Its PH counterpart, AstraZeneca Philippines, is headed by Ms. Lotis Ramin.

“We are proud to be recognized by Asia Leaders Awards as Health and Wellness company of the year for our contributions to help the country fight the pandemic. Thank you for your hard work Astra Zeneca teams in the Philippines and around the world.”

Ms. Ramin said, receiving the award.

Also speaking during the event under Go Negosyo, Sen. Ana Theresia “Risa” Hontiveros said because female entrepreneurs tend to be bolder, they take more risks and seize opportunities even as they carry on their many roles in the household. Hontiveros noted that several opportunities still remain for women, especially in e-commerce.

The Go Negosyo summit was attended also by Sen. Mary Grace Poe and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.