Message from the Executive Director
Sixto Donato C. Macasaet
Partners and colleagues,
How have you been? We hope it is not too late to greet you a happy and prosperous new year.
Most of us, perhaps in different ways, are looking forward to making up for lost time during the pandemic. On a global scale, we are halfway through in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. In ways more than one, we have experienced setbacks in attaining the 17 goals by 2030.
Closer to home, we are marking the last two years of FSSI’s Strategic Plan for 2020 – 2024. Likewise, a lot remains to be done. Nevertheless, we draw inspiration from knowing that our work in social enterprise development and impact investing has a role to play in the universal goal to achieve sustainable development for all. Many social enterprises, especially among our partners, work to provide sustainable livelihood particularly to marginalized communities.
That is why we continue to improve our instruments to be able to provide much needed capital and other resources to social enterprises. We’ve also hit the ground running quite early on in the new year. In a month’s time, our program staff have already visited current social enterprise (SE) partners and met prospective ones from the north in Benguet, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, and Nueva Ecija, to the south in Batangas, and all the way down to Leyte and Davao.
We are also institutionalizing our gender strategy through the adoption of gender goals in our Strategic Plan, particularly in providing investment capital and capacity building to women-owned and -led social enterprises. This year, we are also doubling down on our advocacy to strengthen the triple bottom line (3BL) practice of our partners and organizations within the FSSI network.
We are firm in our belief that social entrepreneurship is a viable path out of poverty. The projects we support, which translate to concrete opportunities in the communities that our SE partners serve, are proof of this.
With systematic support and recognition from the government, which we continue to strongly advocate for, social enterprises have the potential to reduce poverty on a national scale. In this regard, FSSI has always been active in the campaign to promote the passing of the Poverty Reduction through Social Entrepreneurship (PRESENT) Bill. This key legislation which will allow SEs to grow, become sustainable, and scale up their impact is long overdue.
The new Philippine Development Plan (a copy of which we are also sharing with you here), envisions economic growth, better and resilient jobs, food security and affordability, and innovation in production sectors. These are the very same areas that social enterprises aim to transform towards a sustainable economy, especially in light of the lessons we have learned during the height of the pandemic. Social enterprises are effective partners in inclusive poverty reduction and sustainable development.
As SE advocates, this year, we look forward to working with you in building stronger partnerships, creating better opportunities, and growing more community enterprises.
