The ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC) is putting small businesses alongside regional corporate heavyweights at its November 14-15 summit in Manila, while advancing a P35-billion pipeline of private investments in agriculture and food security.
ABAC Philippines chairman Joey Concepcion said the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit would bring about 50 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), including women-led businesses, into activities traditionally dominated by large corporations and business leaders.
The initiative reflects ABAC’s push to make regional economic integration more inclusive by giving smaller enterprises direct exposure to investors, business networks and opportunities beyond their domestic markets.
“Big business cannot just be present in an ASEAN event,” Concepcion said, arguing that economic prosperity would remain out of reach if smaller enterprises were left behind.
“We want to treat them as equal as big business,” he added.
Concepcion said the initiative also seeks to encourage entrepreneurs to think beyond small-scale operations and eventually build larger, more competitive businesses.
The summit’s MSME focus will extend beyond the conference venue, with simultaneous Trabaho at Negosyo activities planned in participating SM, Ayala and other malls. These events will bring entrepreneurship mentoring and employment opportunities closer to communities, broadening participation in the regional gathering.
Beyond small-business development, ABAC is pushing the ASEAN Food Security Alliance, which has a projected P35-billion private investment pipeline for agriculture and food security.
The initiative seeks to improve farmers’ and fisherfolk’s access to financing, technology and markets, addressing persistent gaps that limit productivity and prevent rural producers from fully benefiting from expanding regional trade.
The proposed investments also place food security among the summit’s central economic concerns, at a time when supply disruptions, climate risks and rising production costs are putting pressure on agricultural systems across the region.
Other agenda items include digital trade, artificial intelligence, energy cooperation and the creative economy, reflecting the range of industries shaping ASEAN’s next phase of economic integration.
But the success of regional cooperation should not be measured solely by investment figures or the performance of large companies, but by whether economic growth creates better livelihoods for ordinary citizens, Concepcion said.
The summit is expected to bring together business leaders, investors and policymakers to discuss opportunities for regional cooperation and translate them into concrete economic benefits.
