THE 2018 NRCO-ISP BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION PACKET

Competition opens on 18 May 2018 and closing date for entries is 07 September 2018

Harnessing Seafarers’ Capacities for Business Enterprises Development

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Rules and Eligibility

1. This Competition is open to:

a. Active seafarers preferably those who are planning to retire from sea

life and interested to venture into entrepreneurship.

b. Inactive seafarers who have been in the Philippines for not more

than five (5) years and interested to venture into entrepreneurship.

2. Participants may join the competition either in solo, in pairs or by groups

(minimum of 3 members). Competition entrants, whether individually or

members of a team, must be Filipino and 25 years old or older.

3. A qualified seafarer who wishes to join the competition but is currently on

duty and is unable to attend presentation and coordination activities

related to the Competition including attendance to screening and

mentoring/coaching activities, must have at least one (1) official

representative, must be an immediate family member, who will handle all

the tasks and activities required in the Competition.

4. Open to start-up and original business plans only. The Competition will

open on 18 May 2018 and closing date for entries is 07 September 2018.

Winners will be chosen during an award ceremony on 09 November 2018.

5. Immediate family members of DOLE and NRCO employees are not eligible

to participate in this competition.

6. Top 10 winners of the previous business plan competition are not allowed

to join.

7. Competition entrants must complete an entry form to enter the

Competition. The entry form is downloadable at the NRCO website:

www.nrco.dole.gov.ph.

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Why Participate in the Business Plan Competition?

The 2018 NRCO-ISP Business Plan Competition is a great opportunity for

qualified seafarers to convert their ideas into a business plan and win cash

prizes which they can use as seed capital to start their own business.

Moreover, the business plan competition can be seen as a practical tool not

only for building the capacity of qualified seafarers intending to setup their

own business when they return home but also supporting the growth of jobs

in their hometowns.

Steps for Participation

1. Visit www.nrco.dole.gov.ph and www.isp.org.ph to download Competition

Entry Form and additional information about the business plan competition

2. Submit the business plan along with the following documents:

a) Entry Form

b) Seafarer’s ID and/or proof of being a seafarer

c) Authorization letter from the main entrant (seafarer), if you are the

official representative

3. Wait for the notification of NRCO and ISP for the Top 10 finalists

a) Mentoring/coaching: Date and location of workshop/sessions to be

posted in the NRCO and ISP Facebook Page and official website (October

2018)

b) Final round and Awarding Ceremony(business plan oral

presentation/final pitch) on 09 November 2018 (Location to be posted

in the NRCO and ISP Facebook Page and official website)

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The Competition Process

1. Submission of Entry All entries to the Competition must be received by the Competition secretariat on or before the 07 September 2018 deadline. Please send your written business plan to: A. Via Courier The 2018 Business Plan Competition Secretariat National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO)

G/F Blas Ople Development Center, Solana corner Victoria Streets, Intramuros, Manila

B. Via E-mail nrcoispbusinessplan@gmail.com

C. Via Regional Offices c/o NRCO Regional Coordinators

2. Screening Round

a) Judging Criteria: During the screening round, a technical working

group from the organizers of this Competition will evaluate each written business plan based on the following:

Content of the plan including social business idea and purpose Impact on the community Financial viability

b) The Screening Round will be scheduled after all preliminary entries have been received after 07 September 2018. Competition judges will select ten (10) participants who will advance to the next round (mentoring/coaching round).

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c) The Top 10 shortlisted entries will be announced in September 2018, and posted on the NRCO and ISP Facebook Page and official websites.

3. Mentoring/Coaching Round

a) The Top 10 entrants will be given the opportunity to enhance and strengthen his/her business plan through his/her attendance in a series of mentoring/coaching sessions to be held in October 2017. The objective of this round is to improve submitted business plans and at the same time to serve as an opportunity for him/her to develop his/her market pitches for the Final Round.

b) An individual entrant (or his official representative) and at least one member from each team must attend ALL the mentoring/coaching sessions. Dates and time for the mentoring/coaching sessions will be posted on the NRCO and ISP’s Facebook Page and official website.

4. Final Round: Business Plan Oral Presentation/Final Pitch

a) On this round, participants will present their business plans to a

panel of judges to be selected by NRCO and ISP. Each will be given maximum of 15 minutes for the presentation (10 minutes for the presentation proper, and 5 minutes for the Q&A portion)

b) After all the presentations, judges will discuss the merits of each plan and decide the winner of the Competition. Final Round will take place on 9 November 2018. The location of the business plan oral presentation/final pitch will be posted on the NRCO and ISP’s Facebook Page and official website.

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c) The criteria in selecting the 2018 grand prize winner are based on the following:

Content of the plan including social business idea and purpose

30 pts

Impact on the community 20 pts

Financial viability 30 pts

Clarity and presentation of the business plan 10 pts

Drive and determination of the business plan owner-entrepreneur

10 pts

TOTAL 100 pts

5. Awarding Ceremony

The Competition winner will be announced on 9 November 2018. The schedule and location of the awarding ceremony will be posted on the NRCO and ISP’s Facebook Page and official website.

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The Prizes

Awards and Prizes include:

The 2018 NRCO-ISP Business Plan of the Year

Php 500,000.00 grand cash prize (to be given in three tranches1)

Other Special Awards and Prizes

First Runner-up – Php 100,000.00

Second, Third and Fourth Runners-up – Php 50,000.00 each

Consolation Prize of Php 20,000.00 each for the remaining finalists

Possible grants and access to preferential business loan funding from NRCO

and its partners

1 Total Cash Prize of Php 500,000.00 is funded by the Integrated Seafarers of the Philippines and provided in three

(3) tranches, as follows: First Tranche – Php 50,000; Second Tranche – Php 300,000.00; Third Tranche – Php 150,000.00 within six (6) months period. Guidelines for the release of the cash prize will be provided by NRCO and ISP. All prizes are being solicited by ISP from the sponsors.

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Required Elements of Business Plan

The business plans to be submitted for this Competition can follow any model

but must contain the following:

Cover page (with name and contact details of Competition

participant/s)

A one-page Executive Summary

Table of Contents

Target Market and Competition Analysis

Financial Projections (including break-even analysis)

Exit Plan