Don't force entrepreneurship on OFWs--experts
by MARIA ALETA NIEVA, abs-cbnNEWS.com | 09/24/2008 12:06 PM
Not all overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) can become overnight entrepreneurs upon their return to the Philippines, according to a corporate foundation executive.
“There is this thinking that all returning OFWs can come back and suddenly become entrepreneurs, and so therefore, we should encourage them to put their money in a business when they return,” said Guillermo Luz, executive vice president of the Ayala Foundation-USA (AF-USA).
Luz delivered a paper on “Alternatives for Making the Most Out of Remittances: The Ayala Foundation Case” at a conference on Managing the Development Impact of International Migration held Tuesday in Makati City.
“This is the one where I always wave a big flag of caution,” he said, adding that only a “very few of them (OFWs)" were entrepreneurs before coming home.
He explained that there is the danger of former OFWs losing all their hard earned money, and they might even regret coming back.
“There are a lot of people who feel that we should go into all these entrepreneurial trainings and packages, but I'm really not sure if that' the way to go,” he said.
Microfinance consultant Dr. Maria Piedad Geron agreed with Luz that not everyone can become entrepreneurs.
“A lot of government programs have failed because in most cases, government has been forcing people to become entrepreneurs when, in fact, some do not even have the ability,” Geron.
Invest in entrepreneurship training instead
Although business activities are not for everyone, Geron said it would still be good to come up with projects aimed at helping nongovernment organizations train OFWs for entrepreneurship.
“The OFWs need not be the entrepreneurs themselves, but they can provide assistance and support their own communities through the donations they have provided to those NGOs engaged in building capacities of the real entrepreneurs,” she said.
The issue of entrepreneurship came up when Luz discussed where remittances go and how they are spent.
Aside from entrepreneurial activities, Luz said remittances go to consumption, investment and philanthropy.
“Remittances are important part of our economy,” he said, citing US records in 2005 that the Philippines ranked No. 10 in terms of country of origin with 1.45 million number of Filipino migrants in the US.
“Data show that the bulk of remittances which comes in goes into consumption here in the Philippines,” Luz said.
Some portion of the money sent home by overseas Filipinos go into investments.
For example, he said people are investing in homes. Property developers are now going out of the country to launch their projects and sell them to Filipinos abroad.
“But investment beyond that is another matter. There is not much investment activity by overseas Filipinos going on," he said. "The biggest I think would be people going into the housing market."
Invest in philanthropy
In the case of the Ayala Foundation in the US, the firm is encouraging remittances in philantropy.
“It's not a very large segment yet. It has all the potentials. There are other sectors that take care of the other three items and very few tap into the philanthropic side,” he said.
AF-USA is a is a public charity organized in late 2000. It aims to become the bridge between the Filipinos in the US and the Philippines by creating opportunities that facilitate meaningful contributions to Philippine social development initiatives.
In terms of number, there were 1.6 million Filipino migrants in the US in 2006 or 4.4 percent of all migrants in the US.
These Filipinos are considered the second largest migrant group after Mexico and ahead of the Chinese, Indian and Vietnamese. A total of 45.6 percent of Filipinos reside in California and the rest are in Hawaii, New York, Illinois and New Jersey.
“The vision is just empowering communities who want to be able to help in development. Our goal is to be able to provide them this opportunity to reestablish the link, and of course we need to generate funds for the projects to pursue developmental projects in the Philippines,” he said.
The foundation’s goals are to provide US-based Filipinos the opportunity to help and re-establish their links with the Philippines, and to generate funds and other resources in the US for social development projects in the Philippines.
Not all overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) can become overnight entrepreneurs upon their return to the Philippines, according to a corporate foundation executive.
“There is this thinking that all returning OFWs can come back and suddenly become entrepreneurs, and so therefore, we should encourage them to put their money in a business when they return,” said Guillermo Luz, executive vice president of the Ayala Foundation-USA (AF-USA).
Luz delivered a paper on “Alternatives for Making the Most Out of Remittances: The Ayala Foundation Case” at a conference on Managing the Development Impact of International Migration held Tuesday in Makati City.
“This is the one where I always wave a big flag of caution,” he said, adding that only a “very few of them (OFWs)" were entrepreneurs before coming home.
He explained that there is the danger of former OFWs losing all their hard earned money, and they might even regret coming back.
“There are a lot of people who feel that we should go into all these entrepreneurial trainings and packages, but I'm really not sure if that' the way to go,” he said.
Microfinance consultant Dr. Maria Piedad Geron agreed with Luz that not everyone can become entrepreneurs.
“A lot of government programs have failed because in most cases, government has been forcing people to become entrepreneurs when, in fact, some do not even have the ability,” Geron.
Invest in entrepreneurship training instead
Although business activities are not for everyone, Geron said it would still be good to come up with projects aimed at helping nongovernment organizations train OFWs for entrepreneurship.
“The OFWs need not be the entrepreneurs themselves, but they can provide assistance and support their own communities through the donations they have provided to those NGOs engaged in building capacities of the real entrepreneurs,” she said.
The issue of entrepreneurship came up when Luz discussed where remittances go and how they are spent.
Aside from entrepreneurial activities, Luz said remittances go to consumption, investment and philanthropy.
“Remittances are important part of our economy,” he said, citing US records in 2005 that the Philippines ranked No. 10 in terms of country of origin with 1.45 million number of Filipino migrants in the US.
“Data show that the bulk of remittances which comes in goes into consumption here in the Philippines,” Luz said.
Some portion of the money sent home by overseas Filipinos go into investments.
For example, he said people are investing in homes. Property developers are now going out of the country to launch their projects and sell them to Filipinos abroad.
“But investment beyond that is another matter. There is not much investment activity by overseas Filipinos going on," he said. "The biggest I think would be people going into the housing market."
Invest in philanthropy
In the case of the Ayala Foundation in the US, the firm is encouraging remittances in philantropy.
“It's not a very large segment yet. It has all the potentials. There are other sectors that take care of the other three items and very few tap into the philanthropic side,” he said.
AF-USA is a is a public charity organized in late 2000. It aims to become the bridge between the Filipinos in the US and the Philippines by creating opportunities that facilitate meaningful contributions to Philippine social development initiatives.
In terms of number, there were 1.6 million Filipino migrants in the US in 2006 or 4.4 percent of all migrants in the US.
These Filipinos are considered the second largest migrant group after Mexico and ahead of the Chinese, Indian and Vietnamese. A total of 45.6 percent of Filipinos reside in California and the rest are in Hawaii, New York, Illinois and New Jersey.
“The vision is just empowering communities who want to be able to help in development. Our goal is to be able to provide them this opportunity to reestablish the link, and of course we need to generate funds for the projects to pursue developmental projects in the Philippines,” he said.
The foundation’s goals are to provide US-based Filipinos the opportunity to help and re-establish their links with the Philippines, and to generate funds and other resources in the US for social development projects in the Philippines.
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