THE private sector of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) vowed to make the region’s economic gains inclusive, insisting that they are “not just for the wealthy.” Asean Business Advisory Council (Asean-BAC) Chairman Jose Maria Concepcion III made the remarks during the recent The Manila Times Economic Forum 2026. “They say it’s just for the wealthy and powerful businessmen; that is not so,” he said, noting that the body would focus on several areas throughout the Philippines’ chairmanship of the bloc. This includes agriculture and food security, the creative economies, youth development, women’s economic empowerment, and digital and AI integration — vital aspects in today’s economy. Asean‑BAC provides business insights and recommendations to Asean leaders. It is the primary platform for the region’s private sector to engage with policymakers, advocate for economic cooperation, and advance Asean’s integration agenda. Among the plans the council has lined up are activities that promote job generation and entrepreneurship through a new campaign by Go Negosyo, the non-profit Concepcion founded in 2005 to advocate for entrepreneurship among Filipinos. The new program, called Trabaho at Negosyo, is a job fair and entrepreneurship mentoring event to be held in malls nationwide. MSMEs account for more than half of jobs generated in the world, making them powerful engines of inclusive growth. “The fourth quarter will be the finale for Asean, and we want to bring the event closer to the people because they will not be able to access the event area, which will be locked down for security,” Concepcion said. “We will beam the activities in all the malls through LEDs as they happen and as we hold the Trabaho at Negosyo activities.” The initiatives would spill over to provinces holding Asean-related activities and not just the National Capital Region. Concepcion said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has requested that all meetings be held in different parts of the country. “We already started with Batangas a couple of weeks ago, when we held our 105th Asean–BAC Meeting and the 27th Joint Business Council Meeting in Nasugbu,” he said. Concepcion said that the next stops will be Puerto Galera in Mindoro, Boracay in Aklan, and Oslob in Cebu. “We want the Asean delegates to see how beautiful the islands are,” he said. “The only way we can solve poverty is to make our economies inclusive, and the private sector is committed to that as we pursue regional economic integration,” he said.