Lifestyle

Hanabishi Appliances 5-5 Fiesta Sale is the perfect opportunity for you to score the best appliances at discounted prices, whether you’re looking for the perfect Mother’s Day present or a replacement for your old appliances.

“Our sale will run from May 5 to 7, so you’ll have enough time to choose a gift for your mom on May 8, Mother’s Day. Of course, Hanabishi products are great for gifting because they’re made from quality materials. So, if you’re also looking to replace an old appliance or invest in one for your home business, make sure to check our Fiesta Sale,” said Cherish Ong-Chua, Vice President for Finance and Marketing at Hanabishi Appliances.

The sale will happen simultaneously on Shopee Mall and LazMall.

At Shopee, select Hanabishi appliances will go on sale at up to 15% discount. Watch out for the Flash Sale, as you may just score the product you’ve been eyeing at 18% off. When you buy two items, you will also enjoy PhP55 off your purchase. Hanabishi will be giving away PhP50 vouchers and PhP50 free shipping as well.

Over at LazMall, you can also enjoy up to 18% discount on select Hanabishi appliances during its flash sale. From May 5 to 7, meanwhile, you can purchase products at up to 15% off. Buy two appliances, and enjoy PhP55 off! Make sure to collect Lazada Bonus vouchers at PhP100 as well. You can use them to enjoy further discounts. And don’t worry about the shipping costs if you’ve bought too many items; Hanabishi offers up to PhP300 shipping discount.

“You don’t have to leave home to purchase Hanabishi appliances as they’re available in two of the most popular online selling platforms in the country. You can also visit our own e-commerce website, www.myhanabishi.com,” Ong-Chua shared.

Hanabishi is well-known for producing high-quality kitchen and household appliances. Because of its dependability and low cost, it has become a household staple in most Filipino households.

Follow Hanabishi on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to stay up to date on their latest goods, events, and sales promos.

About Hanabishi:

Sa Bahay at sa Business Mo, Hanabishi!

Hanabishi is a Filipino household name for appliances for over 35 years. It is a brand engineered to fit the lifestyle of the Filipino both for homes and businesses. Hardworking, durable and resilient, are the attributes that personify Hanabishi making it the brand of choice of every Filipino mom and businessman when it comes to value and practicality. Hanabishi is the mark of quality that grows with you through the years. Built with passion and an impeccable desire to uphold the quality of life in every Filipino home, Hanabishi will remain to be the PRACTICAL choice and KAPARTNER, today and for the many years to come.

For more information about Hanabishi, please visit www.myhanabishi.com/shop/and like them on Facebook: www.facebook.com/MyHanabishiAppliances/

Shiptek Solutions Corp., the creator of XLOG, the world’s first fully integrated, blockchain-based, end-to-end shipping and logistics platform, plans to expand beyond the Philippines and into the larger Southeast Asian region, capitalizing on the growing demand for digital solutions in the regional logistics industry.

Shiptek is confident that it can meet the need for digital solutions throughout the area with the adoption of the Association of Southeast Asian Countries’ (Asean) regional effort known as the Asean Single Window, based on its early success in the Philippine market.

The Asean Single Window aims to expedite cargo clearance and promote economic integration by enabling the exchange of trade-related documents among Asean Member States.

“We have seen remarkable and exponential growth in volume and revenues since our launch in 2018. As the only fully-integrated blockchain-based, end-to-end shipping and logistics digital ecosystem in the country, we are able to serve all the needs of the players in the industry — from shipping lines, freight forwarders, customs brokers, trucker associations, and even drivers,” Shiptek Founder and CEO Eugenio Ynion Jr. said.

Ynion added: “This gives us the confidence that we will be able to expand in the Asean region and allow us to become the backbone of the regional shipping industry, providing the tech needed to make logistics more transparent, efficient, and affordable to all players.”

Launched in 2018, Shiptek operates the homegrown supply chain and logistics orchestration ecosystem called XLOG, which houses digital solutions such as digital documentation, online booking, fleet management, payment systems, tracking and tracing of shipments, container insurance, finance management, and a mobile app for truck drivers.

In a nutshell, XLOG streamlines the process interconnecting different players in the industry, allowing them to work with one another to create efficiencies and promote productivity.

The fully-customizable platform caters to all players — including the smaller ones — in the logistics industry.

“Our goal is to continue growing rapidly throughout 2022 by expanding our solutions and services, offering financing and digital solutions as a package. This will help our market address the main pain point of limited cash flow, while enabling them to digitize their operations, thereby promoting transparency and efficiency at more affordable costs,” Ynion said.

XLOG offers financial services by leveraging the open finance platform of its minority investor UBX, the fintech arm of Aboitiz-led Unionbank of the Philippines.

“Digital revolution has had a major impact on the logistics industry. UBx Chairman Henry R. Aguda remarked, “We expect XLOG will empower more businesses in the logistics industry to digitally alter their operations to boost productivity and help to economic recovery, complementing our open finance platform.”

Over 1,000 enterprises and organizations have trusted Shiptek to help them take their logistics operations to the next level.

“In many industries, digital transformation has become the standard, and the logistics business is on its approach to fully embracing this trend. Our technology creates a level playing field by allowing even the tiniest players to digitalize their activities. We at Shiptek are thrilled to expand to additional Asean nations in order to assist more participants in the logistics industry in joining the digital revolution,” Ynion stated.

For more information, please visit https://web.xlog.net

About Shiptek Solutions Corp.

Shiptek Solutions Corp. is a Filipino software development company that operates the pioneering end-to-end digital logistics platform, XLOG. Shiptek is a subsidiary of Yngen Holdings, which takes pride in our Filipino ownership and heritage.

Democratizing access to financial tools and services for women-led micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) will result in a considerable boost to the local economy. During the European Chamber of Commerce Philippines’ Promoting Women and Financial Inclusion Today webinar, government officials from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Senate, as well as executives from leading open finance platform UBX and insurance provider Pru Life UK, emphasized the enormous benefits of including women entrepreneurs in the country’s financial systems.

Male-led enterprises have more access to business finance than female-led businesses, according to global research done by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

And yet, women entrepreneurs, according to a Digital Readiness Study conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry, are motivated to grow their businesses for their families and communities. They just need more knowledge and skills to optimize digital platforms and convert engagement to sales.

“The future of finance is in many ways female,” UBX President and CEO John Januszczak said.

Plugging gender gaps

BSP Deputy Governor of the Financial Supervision Sector Chuchi G. Fonacier said bridging gender gaps by empowering women to become entrepreneurs and democratizing access to finance for female-led businesses are important areas that the central bank wants to address.

“One area where there has been substantial exchange and sharing of ideas and initiatives between the BSP and its stakeholders is empowering women to become successful entrepreneurs in the MSME sector. The BSP recognizes the important role of MSMEs in the economy, and in line with this, the BSP has implemented a wide range of policies and regulatory relief measures to support them — particularly as they have been among the most vulnerable sectors during the pandemic,” Fonacier said.

These include measures that provide incentives to supervised financial institutions to extend financial relief to borrowers, initiatives that incentivize bank lending, and endeavors that promote continued access to lending and financial services, among others.

“The BSP continues to promote the adoption of innovative MSME financing approaches by banks such as the agriculture value chain financing and supply chain financing to direct much needed funds for this sector,” Fonacier said.

Fonacier explained that empowering women entrepreneurs also involves financial literacy measures, as this will equip them with the right knowledge to tap the right tools for their financial needs.

“Financial literacy promotes economic empowerment of women as they aspire to become leaders and agents of change, financial inclusion, and sustainability. Financial literacy leads to growth and development in women welfare and, in turn, contributes to economic growth. Financial feminism through financial literacy presents an opportunity not only to reduce gender gaps in pay, investing, and wealth but also to use women’s increasing financial power to align with the goals and actions required to build a sustainable and equitable future,” Fonacier said.

Significant driver

For her part, Senate Committee on Women, Children, and Family Relations Senator Risa Hontiveros lamented that the pandemic magnified the vulnerabilities of Filipinas.

“We must expand the opportunities for women, especially in financial inclusion. Hindi lang pinto ang dapat pagtutulungan buksan, pati bintana. We can find solutions to common problems of limited access to financing support, training, business development services, and technology that will enhance the competitiveness of women-led micro, small and medium enterprises,” Hontiveros said.

Hontiveros also called on the government to enhance its support for the development of digital solutions that democratize access to financial services for women entrepreneurs, noting that the majority of enterprises in the Philippines are female-led.

UBX Managing Director for Banking Services Anne Yosuico agreed, saying that it is imperative for the finance sector to empower women-led businesses as this leads to significant growth to the broader economy.

Citing a McKinsey Global Institute study, Yosuico said addressing gender gaps could add between $12 trillion to $28 trillion to the global economy, which is larger than the combined economies of the US and China.

World Bank data shows that the Philippines is one of three countries with more female sole proprietors than men. In fact, before the pandemic, 55.8 percent of business name registrations were women-owned and run, according to data from the DTI.

Furthermore, 64 percent of MSMEs assisted by the DTI Negosyo Centers were led by women. Another 64 percent of the 5.8 million individual members of the cooperatives under the National Association of Training Centers for Cooperatives (NATCCO) are female.

“If you look at the potential impact of women, it is game changing,” Yosuico said. “This investment in women whether it’s through education or targeted financial services — will result in an impact of this scale.”

Yosuico emphasized that UBX has been in the business of empowering women entrepreneurs through its open finance platform, considered to be the leader in the Philippines.

Through open finance, participating banks and other financial institutions are able to tailor financial products and services to the needs of women.

“There are so many other things that we can do. We can start to look at how women entrepreneurs can also enable other women entrepreneurs. We can provide focused resources and services aimed at enabling women. Most of all, participation and representation matters, so where you are – you have to keep the conversation going. Doing this will open more access for women, especially women entrepreneurs,” Yosuico said.

Pru Life UK Chairperson Ida Tiongson, for one, believes it is critical for the Philippines to solve the four key issues that women entrepreneurs face: a lack of funds, a lack of confidence, a lack of support, and a lack of time. These four issues, she claims, can be solved by increasing women’s financial knowledge. “Helping women will have a domino impact on the economy,” Tiongson said, adding that “education is the bottom line for all of us.”

About UBX

UBX is the financial technology venture studio and fund of UnionBank of the Philippines. UBX is predicated on a future where financial services are invisible: seamlessly embedded into the experiences and activities that truly matter to businesses and people. For partnerships, email us at [email protected].

For more information about the company and this article, please visit www.ubx.ph

About ECCP

The European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) is a bilateral foreign chamber that promotes European interests in the Philippines and vice versa. As a membership organization with over 700 members among its ranks and a strong partnership with the government, the ECCP offers a strong business network that holds great potential in translating to tangible business opportunities.

Simulare Medical, a division of Smile Train, Inc., has introduced the first and only Bilateral Cleft Lip and Palate Simulator, the latest addition to its growing series of high-fidelity cleft surgery simulators (patent-pending). In partnership with the Philippines Association of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons, training workshops are being held today at the 79th Annual Meeting of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association (ACPA) in Fort Worth, Texas, and in Metro Manila, Cebu, and Davao in the Philippines to commemorate the launch (PAPRAS).

The Simulare Medical Bilateral Cleft Lip and Palate Simulator was developed by leading plastic surgeons to help accelerate the learning curve in cleft lip and palate reconstructive surgical training. It is an anatomically correct, lifelike, and incredibly useful training tool that will reduce patient risk, reduce training costs, and elevate surgeons’ competence and experience globally.

Smile Train is the world’s largest cleft-focused organization. For more than 20 years, Smile Train has supported safe and quality cleft care for 1.5 million+ children globally.

“This latest innovation advances our vision of providing care for every cleft-affected person and demonstrates our commitment to leveraging technology to further education and change lives,” said Susannah Schaefer, President and Chief Executive Officer at Smile Train. “We’re deeply invested in continuing to evolve training that creates more sustainable health systems. We look forward to seeing this Simulator have a positive impact on cleft surgeons at the beginning of their career and longtime professionals looking to refine their skills as well as on our beneficiaries — regardless of the type of cleft they have.”

Though children around the world suffer from both unilateral and bilateral clefts, traditional cleft lip/palate simulators have only addressed unilateral clefts. This Simulator goes beyond that, introducing a tool that can address bilateral clefts (i.e., involving both sides of the mouth). This additional functionality opens the doors for surgeons and trainees to be able to treat more children with refined techniques.

Built with 3D technology, the Simulator uses printed materials to resemble the anatomy and different kinds of tissue, such as skin, muscle, and fat, found inside the mouth to create one of the most realistic models available today. In addition to the advanced technology, the musculature and soft-tissue layers were developed from literature descriptions and consultations with expert cleft surgeons. When local surgeons have access to the most advanced tools, it builds their capacity to provide the best care possible and empowers them to perform surgery safely no matter where they are in the world.

“Surgeons in low- and middle-income countries often face significant barriers to ongoing training. This simulator is more than just a revolution in training technology,” said Dr. Roberto L. Flores, the Joseph G. McCarthy Associate Professor of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, Director of Cleft Lip and Palate at NYU Langone Health, and Member of Smile Train’s Global Medical Advisory Board. “It’s a way to advance equity, ensuring that a talented surgeon in Malawi has the same training opportunities as a surgeon in Dallas, and that babies born with a unilateral or bilateral cleft lip/palate have access to the same standard of care no matter where they live.”

“The Philippine Association of Plastic, Reconstructive, and Aesthetic Surgeons (PAPRAS) is honored to be a part of this global launch,” said Dr. Benjamin G. Herbosa, PAPRAS President. “This technology does not only allow us to provide more opportunities for learning, but also helps to encourage and inspire new surgeons to learn more about cleft surgery.  We recognize Smile Train’s investments in innovation to further empower cleft professionals around the world.  We are grateful to be a partner in this endeavor,” adds Herbosa.

Simulare Medical can ensure that each product is of high quality and will have an even bigger influence on the patients who benefit from it by handcrafting Simulators at its facilities in Canada. Simulare Medical surgical simulators have continuously been recognized as a high-impact, hands-on, low-cost tool to improve and upgrade surgical skills with minimal danger to patients in international research and training workshops. Visit smiletrain.org/simulare to learn more about how to get safe, high-quality surgical training.

Visit smiletrain.org to learn more about Smile Train’s global operations. For updates on Simulare technology and training, follow @SmileTrain on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) and the non-profit Center for Art, New Ventures, and Sustainable Development (CANVAS.PH) recently co-hosted a two-part webinar series on digital art in the age of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to help artists, buyers, and collectors of digital art better understand how these tokens work and how they can participate in the NFT art economy.

The main speaker was NFT specialist Migui Planas, a member of UnionBank’s Digital Asset Markets Unit (DAMU), who shared vital NFT expertise as well as his experiences as an NFT art aficionado. Jonathan Roque, Product Manager at the Bank’s Blockchain Center of Excellence (BCOE), Miguel Elbinias, Liquidity Trader at DAMU, and Cathy Casas, Head of Blockchain and API Business Group, were among the panelists.

The conversation revolved around topics relevant to NFT artists — the impact of NFT on the ownership and sale of digital art, how to mint a piece of artwork as an NFT, how to determine the value of their art, and the marketplaces where they can sell their art.

On day 2 of the webinar, the discussion focused on learnings shared by NFT art buyers and collectors — how they can resell the NFT artwork that they own, how they can ensure a smooth transfer of ownership during purchase, and the various marketplaces where collectors can purchase NFT art.

Artists Jose Antonio Reyes and Ian Victoriano, among those who joined the well-attended webinars, expressed appreciation to the organizers for helping them gain a better understanding of NFTs and blockchain in general, and more importantly, for enabling them to better protect their ownership of their art while expanding their horizons when it comes to sharing them.

“It was very helpful for me as an artist. Learning about an avenue where I can focus on myself as an artist, while being exposed to a global market and seamless royalties is very meaningful. It’s the future, and I’m grateful we’re being taught how to adapt,” Reyes said.

“The talks helped simplify NFT concepts for me. Made me want to explore the possibility of using NFTs to help advance artists’ rights,” Victoriano said.

While still considered highly volatile, the NFT art market has proven to be a very lucrative space, with some artworks selling for thousands and even millions of dollars. In the Hiscox Online Art Trade Report which was released in October last year, it was revealed that NFT art sales in 2021 for the said month reached $3.5 billion in value.

NFTs have forever changed the game for artists and collectors, and many now see them as a staple in digital art moving forward. Being the first Bank in the country to fully embrace NFTs, UnionBank believes that there are more potential use cases for them that are yet to be discovered, which is why the Bank sees the value of knowledge sharing to assist more Filipinos understand the said technology better.

Through forums like this, UnionBank and CANVAS.PH wish that more stakeholders will be encouraged to join similar discussions to educate more people about NFTs and take advantage of the opportunities available in this growing market. UnionBank also hopes to have more banks’ participation in the space to help facilitate smoother transactions, given the important role of cryptocurrency in the sale of NFT art.

“We’re really happy to do this as this reinforces the Bank’s ‘Tech-Up Pilipinas’ advocacy,” said Casas. “We, at the Blockchain Center of Excellence, want to share our knowledge of blockchain technology, as the team is very much open to imparting what we know and also open to improving that learning by involving other industries in this discussion.”

The webinar is just one of UnionBank and CANVAS.PH’s initiatives to help artists and collectors navigate the emerging NFT art space, while also supporting CANVAS.PH’s advocacy for children’s literacy, exploring national identity, and deepening public appreciation for Philippine art, culture, and the environment.

Even if you’ve been selling since you graduated from college, you’ll always find something new to learn. It’s possible that you’ll need to learn new sales methods, a new product to market, or how to improve your sales presentation.

With this in mind, Gruenheim Philippines held a training conference for its sales representatives with the goal of not only improving their sales talents but also their leadership abilities. The goal was also to ensure that the team will be able to successfully express Gruenheim’s product-related philosophies.

Gruenheim GmbH & Co. KG was founded in 2014 and is based in Stuttgart, Germany and is a subsidiary of Luckner & Lahusen Group GmbH & Co. KG. It is a young and fresh trademark of high-end ecological, innovative and premium home appliances. It stands for products that combine functional, timeless and puristic design with impressive technical innovations. Gruenheim products are sold worldwide exclusively by authorized Gruenheim wholesalers.

Titled “Breakthrough in 2022 — Culture. Nurture. Future: Doing Breakthrough Business the Gruenheim Way,” Andreas Luckner, CEO (Marketing and Sales), flew in all the way from Germany to share his learnings and to support the efforts of Mike and Andrea Gamez, President and Corporate Secretary of Gruenheim Philippines.

Facilitated by Al Ian Barcelona and Ruben Lanot, participants underwent high-impact learning sessions on personal mastery, sales leadership, NLP communication skills, effective habits of sales champions, business strategic planning and team building.

“After two challenging years of being unable to meet our goals, we felt that this would be a good time to undergo these learning sessions. It’s like refresher courses that will help you jumpstart your path to selling success,” Mr. Gamez said.

Gruenheim Philippines also donated the home appliances that their clients exchange in for Gruenheim machines to Caritas Manila. This is one of their small contributions to the community.

Call 0917 5984968 or email [email protected] for more information about the Gruenheim Vacuum Cleaner and other items.

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Gruenheim Philippines Inc. is a direct importer and distributor of GRUENHEIM HOME APPLIANCES from Germany, a line of high-end, ecological, innovative and premium home appliances. It is a direct sales marketing company aimed at promoting and distributing GRUENHEIM products in the Philippines.

SM Supermalls, through its corporate social responsibility arm SM Cares, is once again joining the world in observing Earth Hour, with this year’s theme “Shape Our Future,” focusing on how we can work together to halt and reverse climate change and nature loss by 2030 as part of the company’s sustainability efforts.

The World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) created the annual Earth Hour campaign in 2007 to encourage people to switch off non-essential lights as part of energy conservation efforts for the globe. Since its inception in the Philippines in 2008, SM has been a consistent supporter of the campaign, being one of the first in the commercial sector to do so.

This year, SM will continue to promote the campaign by being one of the official partners of WWF for the Earth Hour Virtual Run, to be held from March 26 to April 22. Aside from this, all SM malls will be joining the light switch-off on March 26 from 8:30 PM to 9:00 PM.

“SM is proud to have been supporting Earth Hour throughout the last 14 years. Every year, we partake in this very important movement because we want to inspire people to action and tell them that no matter how small their contribution is, it will go a long way if we work together,” said Engr. Liza Silerio, SM’s Vice President for Corporate Compliance and Head of Sustainability.

“Through Earth Hour, we want to engage over a billion people worldwide and engage decision-makers whether in business, institutions, and governments, to move the agenda of nature up the priority list in the and hopefully, we’ll be changing the ending for the positive – for both people and the planet,” said Atty. Angela Ibay, Climate and Energy Program Head of WWF-Philippines

Aside from joining the campaign every year, SM has been active in environmental protection in many ways. For instance, all SM malls are equipped with energy and water conservation facilities. The company also regularly joins tree planting activities, and has waste management initiatives such as Trash-to-Cash, e-waste and used acid lead batteries collection programs, and the plastic waste collection program with the Plastic Credit Exchange.

SM has also been investing more in renewable energy. Eight malls in the country and three in China are now equipped with solar panels, with more to follow in the coming months. SM also pledged to increase its use of renewable energy to 50 percent of its overall energy usage by year-end.

SM City Tuguegarao Downtown Solar Rooftop

SM’s other sustainability initiatives include the annual Green Film Festival, promoting environmental awareness among students and the youth through films; the AweSMSeas project, promoting awareness on the negative impact of plastic waste on seas and oceans; and the International Coastal Cleanup joined by thousands of volunteers every year, to name a few.

SM Cares is SM Prime Holdings’ corporate social responsibility arm, promoting activities that benefit communities and the environment. SM Cares’ advocacies include programs for women and breastfeeding moms, persons with disabilities, older citizens, children and youth, and the Bike-Friendly SM Program, in addition to environmental programs.

For additional information, go to www.smsupermalls.com/smcares.