Despite being a successful businessman today, Justin Uy, president of Cebu-based ProFood International Corporation, has never looked back on where he came from.
Uy, who has grown from an avid small-time entrepreneur to a successful businessman who owns several companies, credits his success to his fellow Cebuanos and strives to give back.
Ui, also known as Cebu Island mango kingis the founder of one of the most successful Philippine food export companies offering a wide range of tropical fruit products including dried fruits, fruit juices, fruit jams, concentrates, jams, etc.
He is also the Chairman of JPark Island Resort and Waterpark and JFiber Internet Services Corp. (JFiber).
overcome difficulties
The journey to becoming a respected entrepreneur was filled with many challenges. He failed in his three businesses during his teenage years, but took it as a learning experience to launch his next business.
But Uy said the COVID-19 pandemic was a dark moment for him. His business has been hit hard by the crisis, with industries such as dried fruit and tourism paralyzed by the pandemic.
“The pandemic was the worst crisis I have ever experienced. I started very young, so I had already been through crises before this. However, this pandemic is out of control,” he stressed.
However, Ui stood his ground. He continued to show compassion for his people who feared they would not be able to maintain their daily needs.
“We will never shut down restaurant and hotel business. We were asked by the government to shut down, but I said, 'Who's going to answer for the farmers?' Who will answer on behalf of thousands of workers? ’ I am going to do what you want us to do, which is social distancing and other health protocols, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t put them to work,” the Cebuano businessman said. Ta.
Despite all the losses and financial difficulties his company suffered, he did not lay off any of his thousands of full-time employees.
Digitalization of business
As ProFood International expanded into a wide range of domestic and international markets, Mr. Uy recognized the need to modernize the business through digitalization.
“I started in 1994 and, to be honest, I didn’t have enough money for it, but I had to do it because it would help the business. As of today, we are already doing without it. We can't live like that,” Uy said.
The Cebuano entrepreneur also emphasized the importance of connectivity to enable business operations, especially now that meetings and other business processes are already being conducted online.
Mr. Uy said Converge ICT Solutions Inc. is a reliable internet service provider that allows him and his employees to connect and communicate whenever they need to travel, especially when traveling abroad.
“We are Converge users and a strong connection definitely helps our business, especially when talking to our employees. I travel a lot so I need a strong internet to connect with my employees. , employees also need stable and reliable connectivity to communicate with everyone,” he said.
“I can't move forward without connection. When I have to go to a meeting, it's already part of my life. Without it, I don't have the connection I need to make the right decisions. You can’t be more efficient because you don’t have access to data,” he added.
Giving back to people through strong connections
Uy, which was an enterprise customer in 2021, began working with Converge in 2022. With the aim of giving back to his fellow Cebuanos through stronger and more reliable internet connectivity, he is supporting his Converge to deepen its presence in Cebu.
Mr. Uy, Chairman of JFiber, said: “Dennis Anthony Uy always says that access to the internet should not be a privilege of a few, but a right of all Filipinos. We share Dennis and Grace Uy's vision of providing Cebuanos with world-class pure end-to-end fiber internet connectivity.”
“I have always supported the development of this country, so when Dennis told me about this, this is new and we can also help many Filipinos and Cebuanos. So I was very happy,” he said.
Last September 2022, Converge and JFiber opened a state-of-the-art business center in Cebu City as part of its efforts to improve customer satisfaction among its growing customer base in the region.
Converge Business Center facilitates a variety of customer transactions, including application processing, plan upgrades, service inquiries, technical reports, repair requests, and billing-related transactions.
For more information about Converge, please visit: www.convergeict.com
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