IRENE SINO CRUZ
As the country now moves toward the new normal, the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry stages the Cebu Business Months that aims to equip the business sector with the tools they need to recover from the adverse impact of the pandemic.
During the press conference held at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel on May 12, Thursday, Cebu Chamber president Charles Kenneth Co explained how CBM 2022 could help businesses adjust to the changes brought about by the pandemic.
“The activities in CBM are geared towards digital transformation and some of the new trends. Businesses need to be able to adopt because there are consumers wanting to be more convenient and easily transact with businesses,” Mr. Co told RMA News.
He also stressed the importance of the CBM events, which have attracted thousands of participants from all over the region.
According to Co, CBM had been creating meaningful interaction and exchange of trends and innovations.
“Despite the global and local crisis and challenges we all face and despite all the uncertainty, I continue to see an unbelievable commitment and resilience from our industry players as they continuously rise above barriers and claim victory over these challenging times,” the Cebu Chamber president pointed out in his opening speech during the press conference.
Co also expressed optimism over Cebu’s business prospects and stressed that the chamber will continue to work with government to ensure business friendly laws and policies.
Brigitte Carmel Lim, CBM 2022 overall chairperson, noted that the response from businesses who are hopeful that the activity would help boost their recovery from the pandemic. She noted that with the hybrid and in-person activities, people will have a choice on options to attend these events.
“Our activities this year addresses our challenges and we also have solutions from industry leaders. We only want Cebu industries to recover,” Ms Lim told RMA News.
While Cebu Chamber could not address all the concerns of businesses, she explained that the chamber’s strategy is to focus on the most prominent issues.
“Our (CBM) activities are also empowering Cebuano businesses through financial literacy, industry literacy and giving more option to learn about their industry,” Ms. Lim added.
With “Go Cebu” as the CBM 2022 theme and the Realign, Reinforce, Rebuild tagline, the series of events will showcase informative and engaging programs as well as provide opportunities and draw on the strengths of each industry.
The CBM 2022 will start with a grand opening salvo on May 27. In June, the events will include the Travel & Tour Exhibit, Go Tech Cebu: A Round Table Discussion + Summit, the Founders Hour and the Cebu Food and Wine Festival.
In July, CBM 2022 will feature Go Invest Cebu: Meet Your Negosyante Icons, Go Invest Cebu: An Entrepreneurs’ Summit, CEO Networking Night and Go Race Cebu: The Safari Experience.
The Go Explore Cebu: A Tourism Summit will be held on August while the Go Ignite Cebu: Creative Entertainment Week will be conducted Fridays and Saturdays in the month of September.
The events slated for the month of October are the Creative Hub Inauguration, the Investors’ Primer and the two day Go Cebu Grand Expo and Exhibit.