| Rafisura & Lim |
Crafting a better future for CDO Cagayan de Oro may not be as affluent as other more popular cities in the country but with established companies like Salay Handmade Paper Industries, Inc. (SHAPII) and Limketkai Group of Companies providing job opportunities, the people in this progressive province may now see a better future.Starting out as a project that hopes to provide better means of livelihood to the then impoverished town of Salay, SHAPII, a company involved in paper crafting, grew to become a dynamic and vibrant enterprise looked upon by many not only as a source of income, but also as basis for pride in the city. Productively coming up with the original method of using fiber or abaca, leaves of pineapple, and other indigenous materials, Loreta Rafisura, who was then helped by eight other civic-minded persons, has indeed went way beyond her original goal of helping her town folks. From peddling their products and displaying them on consignment basis at stores in Cagayan de Oro City and even in Manila, she was able to grow the motley group of 10 people to its present size of 300. Despite the challenges it had to face during its course of operation, the company persevered to further improve its network and strengthen its market. Although there were problems like financing, crab mentality and sustainability along the way, the company stood firm and even shooed away these obstacles by staying firm on the values of transparency, honesty, simplicity, self-reliance and trust in God which its founder initiated. Similarly, Alfonso U. Lim, the brains behind the remarkable and unprecedented growth of the Limketkai Group, had always desired to contribute further to the economic growth and prosperity of Cagayan de Oro City.  Involved in an encompassing array of sectors such as manufacturing, real estate development, leasing and retailing, Lim is presently pursuing the full execution of the Limketkai Group’s Master Development Plan which he designed to convert the Limketkai Center into a Central Business District of Cagayan de Oro City.Once completed, this center will call for the establishment of vertical developments such as high-rise condominiums for offices, financial centers, business process outsourcing or call centers. Distinguished by his overflowing confidence in the city he grew up in, Lim is now a force to reckon with in Cagayan de Oro. Because of these, Rafisura and Lim will each be recognized by Presidential Consultant for Entrepreneurship Jose Concepcion III as an Inspiring CDO Entrepreneur, an award given by the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship as part of the Go Negosyo sa Cagayan de Oro slated on October 19 at the Atrium, Limketkai Center. Go Negosyo sa CDO is part of PCE's latest campaign, the Go Negosyo Caravan, which aims to bring Go Negosyo forums and expositions in key cities in the country. The Caravan has already visited Cebu, Bacolod, Baguio, Manila, and Pampanga. Go Negosyo sa Cagayan de Oro is presented by the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship in partnership with the Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Major partners include PAGCOR, Globe, Hyundai, San Miguel Corporation, Splash Corporation, STEAG State Power Inc., Limketkai Sons Inc., Unilever, PLDT, Smart, RFM Corporation, Concepcion Durables Inc. and Entrepreneurs School of Asia. Media partners include The Philippine Star, The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Sunstar CDO, GMA Network Inc., ABS-CBN, ANC, RPN9, NBN4, Aspac-Laaw and Creativoices Productions. |
