2021 marks Sanitary Care Products Asia (SCPA)’s 25 years in the business of manufacturing homegrown hygiene brands. These include familiar names Sanicare, Femme, Tisyu, Cheers, Naturale, and Jade. To kick off their silver anniversary, they are teaming up with the Asian Institute of Management – Dado Banatao Incubator (AIM-DBI) to search for deserving Filipino startup businesses through #HIIGENE — Human Investment x Impact Grant for Entrepreneurship and Empowerment.
A people-first philosophy
SCPA under its chairman and founder Mr. Renato Sio and its president Mr. Venjosef Sio has always put its people first throughout their 25 years in the industry. Thus, with their announcement of the HIIGENE grant last 18 March 2021, SCPA together with AIM-DBI will search for Filipino startups with emphasis on people management as primary criterion. This grant will provide opportunities to deserving startups to accelerate their businesses. This is in the hope of inspiring entrepreneurs to put up trailblazing companies built on their people’s loyalty, trust, and respect.
HIIGENE grant and activities
AIM-DBI Executive Director Mr. Prim Paypon shared that qualified startups through the grant have the chance to hone their leadership skills and grow their businesses through a three-month long mentorship program. Up to three companies can be awarded up to PHP 500,000 cash grants to fund their businesses.
Who can join? Interested startups from AIM-DBI’s pool of 2018 alumni to 2021 enrollees may start applying beginning 1 April through 30 April 2021. They will undergo rigid screening to ensure that they are a perfect fit with SCPA and AIM-DBI’s core philosophy.
Awarding of the grants will follow in June. Finally, a culminating activity will happen in October and highlight the progress of the winners.
The HIIGENE difference
The grant is a first in many ways. Mr. Paypon shared that this is the only time a local company collaborates with a business school incubator to work with startups as a pioneering business-academe-startup partnership. Unlike the usual grants focusing on product innovation, HIIGENE focuses on going back to the people who keep the company thriving and growing. Nothing could be more apt and in line with SCPA’s mantra — “Great love for what we do and the people we do it for.”
Watch the launch of HIIGENE last 18 March 2021 on SCPA’s Official Facebook Page!