IDEAYALA 2023 offers a thrilling opportunity for the next generation of entrepreneurs to showcase their innovative business ideas and turn them into action. In addition to encouraging the youth’s creative thinking and problem-solving skills, the affair also aims to instill in them a sense of confidence and determination to pursue their dreams. Spearheaded by Ayala Malls in partnership with Kiddo-preneur, IDEAYALA’s commitment to supporting and recognizing the potential of these young minds exemplifies the group’s dedication to nurturing the next generation of business leaders in the Philippines. 

Following the launch at Greenbelt earlier this year, Ayala Malls and Kiddo-preneur continue to empower the youth, aged five to 17, as they makes rounds at various Ayala Malls in the coming weeks and months—Ayala Malls Manila Bay on Aug. 19 and 20, Market! Market! on Aug. 26 and 27, Ayala Malls Circuit on Sept. 2 and 3, Glorietta on Sept. 23 and 24, Ayala Malls Solenad on Oct. 7 and 8, Ayala Malls The 30th on Oct. 21 and 22, Ayala Malls Feliz on Nov. 11 and 12, and Ayala Malls Marikina on Nov. 18 and 19.

Shaping future business leaders
Launched in 2014 as the brainchild of Mariana Zobel de Ayala and Paloma U. Zobel, IDEAYALA is a visionary project that aims to inspire, train, and challenge young minds to innovate and create viable, sustainable, and market-inclusive mall experiences or entrepreneurial concepts. Seeking to envision the “mall of the future,” some of these ideas may even hold the potential to address the country’s social and environmental concerns.

Previously, the project mostly engaged college students through talks, mentorship programs, and competitions. After seeing how the pandemic affected numerous businesses, particularly MSMEs, it took on a different shape. This year’s initiative focuses on developing a new generation of strong business leaders by engaging entrepreneurs as young as five years old!

This shift in approach sparked a partnership between IDEAYALA and Kiddo-preneur, a socially oriented non-profit organization dedicated to nurturing entrepreneurship among the youth. Together with Ayala Malls, Kiddo-preneur is driving meaningful change by propelling the next generation of young entrepreneurs forward.

“IDEAYALA was created by our need to define the ‘mall for the future,’” said Mark Sablan, vice president and head of leasing of Ayala Malls. “Fast forward to today, after the pandemic, we revisited the concept because we believe these young minds will be the source of inspiration and new concepts that we’ll be discovering in the next coming years.”

IDEAYALA co-founder Mariana Zobel furthered, “It’s exciting to be in the midst of all this creativity. It’s also impressive to see kids this young conceptualizing and executing fresh ideas and new solutions. Our goal now at IDEAYALA is to nurture this mindset and encourage the kids to keep imagining new and sustainable business models and ideas for the future.”

Transforming ideas into real-world opportunities
Hundreds of kids launched their businesses through IDEAYALA. Some of the businesses showcased at recently concluded events at Greenbelt, TriNoma, and Fairview Terraces were eight-year-old Mariella Oreta’s Science in a Jar, an education-oriented business that sold live caterpillars; Zara, Zree, and Zac Chua’s Cafe de Slime, which sold slime sets; and siblings Vino and Bella Bugayong’s VB Pantry, which sold treats and refreshments to hungry mall goers.
 

Other notable highlights were the Build-A-Brand Workshop, where 50 young kiddo-preneurs were challenged to get creative and create and present their very own shampoo brand. The kids also got the chance to listen and learn from industry titans, such as Jollibee Foods Corporation president and CEO Ato Tanmantiong and Mary Grace Café founder Mary Grace Dimacali, who shared their humble beginnings and how they grew their businesses into the empires they are today.
 

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