The University of the Philippines Institute for Small-Scale Industries (UP ISSI) is now accepting submissions of entries for the Honing Agents for National Disaster Awareness (HANDA) Challenge.
With the theme “Keeping Afloat: Business Continuity Case Stories of Philippine MSMEs,” the HANDA Challenge aims to encourage micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to share their best practices in navigating business disruption and showcase inspiring success stories.
Over the past years, the current COVID-19 pandemic and other natural, human-induced, and technological threats, i.e. earthquakes, typhoons, cyber-attacks and data breaches, have severely disrupted economic activities and operations of businesses. As such, it is crucial to establish a culture of resilience that promotes awareness among MSMEs on how to safeguard people and assets while continuously delivering products and services to their customers amidst disruptive events.
Since 2014, the UP ISSI has been conducting awareness programs and capacity-building workshops on Business Continuity Planning (BCP) for MSMEs. In 2018, the Institute modified its existing BCP Program and was relaunched as “Honing Agents for National Disaster Awareness (HANDA)” Program.
The UP ISSI HANDA Program brings together business owners and representatives from various sectors to cultivate a culture of preparedness in the country. It is also open for those who are interested in acquiring more knowledge about people and asset protection. It is in line with the goal of the Sendai Framework of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), which focuses on safeguarding livelihoods and workplaces with the help of disaster risk management.
The UP ISSI HANDA Challenge strives to inspire other MSMEs in implementing business continuity and resilience strategies through the best practices and stories shared by their fellow MSMEs.
Interested applicants may refer to the guidelines below:
- Must be a duly-registered Philippine micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) in operation for at least one year.
- Accomplishment of online application form at https://www.bit.ly/HANDAchallenge.
- Submissions may be written in either Filipino or English.
- Submissions of photos as proof of enterprise resilience and business continuity initiatives via email at research@up.edu.ph
Winners will receive these UP ISSI training vouchers:
1st Place: e-HANDA Course and the Digital Marketing Course (worth a total of PhP 13,500)
2nd Place: e-Start Your Online Business Course (worth PhP 9,000)
3rd Place: e-HANDA Course: Disaster Preparedness and Business Continuity Planning for MSMEs (worth PhP 4,500)
The UP ISSI will accept applications until May 31, 2022.
Interested applicants may contact issi.research@up.edu.ph for questions and/or clarifications.
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