by Lea Regina Dulay and Rojean Grace Patumbon/UM Interns
THE DAVAO City Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Inc. invited business leaders, investors, and delegates to network and build strong connections during the three-day 7th Davao Investment Conference (Davao ICon) 2023 on July 17-19.
The Davao ICon organizers anticipate more or less 500 business executives, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, and government officials to join the conference.
The first day features pre-event activities such as the Golf Invitational, various wellness and leisure activities, and a welcome dinner. The golf tournament will be held at Rancho Palos Verdes Golf Course, Mandug, with a registration fee of P12,000 for Davao Icon delegates (for the three-day event) and P8,000 (golf tournament only) for non-delegates.
The awards night is set for the same day at 6 p.m. at the Waterfront Insular Hotel. The winners will be given a carved trophy featuring the iconic Philippine Eagle created by Davaoeño artist Brando Cedeño. Aside from the trophy, they can also win raffle prizes such as cars, motorcycles, and cash prizes.
“I would say [that] golf is one of the many pastimes of many business people, investors, and executives, and business leaders because it is fun and it’s in a relaxing atmosphere. In my personal experience, a lot of business deals happen on the golf course,” said John Naranjo, Davao ICon Golf Invitational Committee head and CEO & founder of Ingenuity Software.
Days two and three will feature exhibitions, seminars, panel discussions, industrial tours, networking opportunities, pitching competitions, forum business matching, and investment forums at the SMX Convention Center, SM Lanang Premier. The business opportunity enables marketing, networking, promotion, connections, and collaborations with other firms, all of which will help the City of Davao in the coming years.
“I think that it is very important for our economy to grow and to improve. It’s very important to get new investors and, at the same time, make strong connections with one another. So in relation to what John said, it’s very important that this investment conference will not only bring in the investors but make sure that they will be able to meet the right people, connect with the right people,“ said Samantha Uy, Davao ICon vice-chairperson and Asaje Group of Companies head of finance.
Davao City has notably become an investment powerhouse in 2022, with a Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) of 8.1%, higher than other regions. Davao was able to easily bounce back from the effect of the pandemic. It recaptured its spot as a business hub, being hailed as one of the safest cities in the country.
Davao ICon expects multinational companies will be present at the event, like Grab Holdings Inc., Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Anflo Management and Investment Corporation, San Miguel Corporation, Charoen Pokphand Foods (CPF Thailand) Public Company, and Converge ICT Solutions Inc.
“We will also be highlighting some of Davao’s best products, and that’s why we will bring them to the Waterfront [Insular Hotel]. [We also have] one of the iconic trophies. We will try to bring in, maybe invite DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) to showcase some of our local products [because] we have foreign delegates and a lot of these foreign delegates will probably be interested in investing or buying our local products,” said Naranjo.
