Most Influential Filipinos in the Gulf – ATENEO LSE SCHOOL – The Entrepreneur Makers

Most Influential Filipinos in the Gulf – ATENEO LSE SCHOOL

Ateneo LSE School Photo by Eros Goze for Illustrado Magazine

Those who want to start their own business or find out how to lead and manage their own families and organizations can step up to the plate through the Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship Program, more popular known as the LSE Program, a project of the Philippine Business Council of Dubai and the Northern Emirates in cooperation with the Philippine Consulate General, POLO and OWWA. A 12- session certificate course involving three modules – Leadership, Financial Literacy and Social Entrepreneurship – the program trains an individual to become a leader in his own private circle and helps him with social entrepreneurship and financial management. “As a student at the Ateneo, part of my formation was to serve – to be a person for others,” says Jasper Adviento. “When I heard about the opportunity to help organize the Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship program, I recalled the days when I was involved in many socially-oriented organizations. It brought back memories of how I was a joyful student in serving other people. Thus, I saw LSE as a venue for me to continue the service I started in college.”

The growth of LSE is very organic.  It started with a small group of friends coming together in behalf of the Ateneo School of Government – Jasper Adviento, Ella Cordero, Milen Aviles, Armand Fernandez and Eloi Francisco.  There weren’t any written rules or formal titles or reporting lines, but it worked very well because the group was very cohesive.  Year after year, the number of volunteers increased as well as the number of Filipinos interested in applying to the program.  “The stories of students’ transformation, how they overcame obstacles is just inspiring,” says Ella Cordero. “The teachers, like Vince and Edwin, are just a laugh trip and they make the topic of financial literacy easy to comprehend.  The volunteers themselves are very accomplished leaders in their respective fields and to see them sacrifice their time for others is just humbling.”

In the past three years, LSE Dubai has had more than a hundred graduates. A number of business plans of LSE Batch 26 have also been incorporated in the UAE, such as Tarakabayan, an online portal for OFWs to rent or exchange property in the Philippines.