27 May 2022 – The Foundation for a Sustainable Society, Inc. (FSSI) hosted a learning session to provide an outlook for the country’s economy in the context of the next administration coming on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic, and present opportunities for the social enterprise (SE) sector to increase competitiveness and contribute to building an equitable pandemic recovery.
The learning session was held via teleconferencing on May 18, 2022, attended by around 80 representatives from FSSI member organizations, social enterprise partners, affiliates, and SE advocates. The activity was part of FSSI’s annual General Assembly.
Economist Filomeno Sta. Ana, co-founder and Coordinator of the Action for Economic Reforms, a policy research and advocacy group, talked about the socio-political and economic overview and forecast in the near term. “Economic recovery can only be sustained by containing the pandemic, but at the same time, even as we need to spend more to contain the pandemic and to reduce poverty, increase employment, and build infrastructure, we have a fiscal stage that is narrowing given the large budget deficit that we have right now. The question is whether the incoming administration is up to such challenges,” he said. Sta. Ana shared lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic which he used as starting point in identifying major roadblocks and key policy recommendations to address these constraints.
Meanwhile, Marie Torres, Senior Manager at Investing in Women (IW), shared insights on how social enterprises can scale their impact and contribute to building an equitable economy. Torres drew from her experience in impact investment, particularly from IW, an initiative of the Australian Government to catalyze inclusive economic growth through women’s economic empowerment in South East Asia. “There are four elements of a business that has to be ready or has to be in place so that social enterprises could scale and reach their impact – market, finance, skills, and networks,” she shared.
You may find the highlights of the discussion here.
