by Ferry Bayu | Oct 14, 2026 | Business
Cebuana Lhuillier, through its parent company PJ Lhuillier, Inc., has been named one of only 10 global finalists for the Award for Diversity and Inclusion at the Investors in People Awards 2026, making it the only Philippine organization recognized in the category. The Investors in People Awards recognize achievements in people practices, making the distinction a significant international recognition of Cebuana Lhuillier’s four-year journey toward building a more inclusive workplace.
“An organization can only truly serve a community with different backgrounds when it first understands and values the individuality within its own people. Our journey toward greater inclusion is about creating an environment where every Ka-Cebuana can bring their experiences, talents, and perspectives to the table and know that they have a meaningful role to play,” said Cebuana Lhuillier President and CEO Jean Henri Lhuillier.
At the heart of that achievement is Cebuana Lhuillier’s belief that inclusion must begin from within. With more than 12,700 Ka-Cebuanas serving approximately 30 million customers nationwide, the company has made creating a workplace where people feel valued, respected, and empowered to contribute an integral part of its culture and employee experience.
Cebuana Lhuillier’s inclusion journey has evolved through initiatives that progressively created more opportunities for its people to listen, understand one another, share their experiences, and see the value of their individual contributions. Intertwined opened conversations around diversity and mutual respect, while iBelong gave employees a platform to share their stories and perspectives. Last year, Amazing Cebuana brought those conversations closer to the people by celebrating the different experiences and contributions of Ka-Cebuanas, while this year, Tatak Cebuana, Proud Ka-Cebuana: Work That Impacts Lives builds on that foundation by connecting employees’ individual contributions to the work they do and the lives they impact. Together, these milestones have helped move inclusion from a conversation into an increasingly embedded part of Cebuana Lhuillier’s culture.
Employee participation has helped strengthen this culture, with more than 250 Tatak Cebuana influencers championing inclusion and bringing these conversations into everyday experiences across the company.
“Over the years, we have seen how these efforts can bring our people closer together and create a workplace where everyone feels they have a place. What makes this journey meaningful is that inclusion is no longer just something we talk about. It is something our people are helping shape and live out every day. This recognition is a reflection of that collective effort,” said Jo-Ann Tacorda, First Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of Cebuana Lhuillier.
This growing culture of inclusion also supports a more engaged employee experience, strengthening how Ka-Cebuanas connect with one another and, ultimately, with the customers and communities they serve.
For Cebuana Lhuillier, an inclusive workplace is integral to its purpose of serving Filipinos from all walks of life. Being named a global finalist recognizes the progress made so far and marks another milestone in building a culture where every Ka-Cebuana can belong, contribute, and make an impact.
by Ferry Bayu | Oct 14, 2026 | Business
A teacher from Surigao City receives ₱10,000 to help pay household bills, while five others receive ₱500 GCash rewards.
MANILA, Philippines — October 12, 2026 — Ginto Privilege Club (GPC) has confirmed six winners from its first Ginhawa Support Draw, held live on October 1, 2026, at 8:00 PM Philippine time.
The draw awarded a total of ₱12,500 in prizes, including a ₱10,000 main reward and five ₱500 GCash bonus rewards, marking an important milestone for GPC’s new one-off Pack model.
₱10,000 Ginhawa Support Helps Winner Cover Household Bills
Teacher Wyzyn Patosa from Surigao City was named the main winner of GPC’s first Ginhawa Support Draw.
After completing the required eligibility and identity verification, Wyzyn received the ₱10,000 prize through GCash on October 5, 2026.
Wyzyn shared that the reward would help pay the family’s electricity and water bills, providing welcome financial relief for everyday household expenses.
“Malaking tulong po ang ₱10,000 Ginhawa Support prize sa amin, lalo na sa pagbabayad ng aming kuryente at tubig. Maraming salamat po sa Ginto Privilege Club!” Wyzyn said.
Alongside the main winner, five other participants each received a ₱500 GCash bonus reward:
Maria Ira P. – Surigao del Norte/Caraga
Rosalie P. – Sta. Ana/Pampanga
Josefa P. – Tuguegarao City/ Cagayan
Ferdinand R. – Surigao del Norte/Caraga
Jennifer L. – Catanauan/Quezon
GPC Highlights Transparency and Prize Delivery
“Our first draw is an important milestone for GPC, but what matters most is seeing our winners receive their prizes,” said Kristine Henderson, Co-Founder and CEO of Ginto Privilege Club.
“We want every participant to feel confident that our draws are transparent, our winners are properly verified and our prizes are delivered as promised.”
All six winners completed GPC’s verification requirements before their prizes were confirmed.
Winners were not required to pay any fees to claim their rewards.
To support transparency and public confidence, GPC maintains a dedicated Winner Proof page featuring confirmed winners, available prize delivery records and updates on reward fulfilment.
GPC also conducts its winner announcements through Facebook Live, allowing viewers to watch the computerized winner selection process.
GPC Continues Weekly Draws with ₱30,000 Smartphone Upgrade and Upcoming ₱10,000 Prize
On October 8, 2026, GPC held its second promotional draw, naming Ferdinand Rodriguez of Surigao City as the verified winner of the ₱30,000 Smartphone Upgrade Reward.
The prize provides store credit towards an eligible smartphone purchase. Ferdinand is currently completing the merchant selection and redemption process.
The next GPC draw, ₱10,000 You Win–You Pick, is scheduled for October 15, 2026, at 12:30 PM Philippine time, offering six prizes: one ₱10,000 main reward and five ₱500 GCash Bonus Rewards.
The main winner can choose from eligible prize options including groceries, food, beauty, or everyday essentials, depending on what matters most to them.
Entries close at 11:30 AM Philippine time on October 15.
The five ₱500 Bonus Rewards are available to eligible Sulit and Ginto Pack participants, subject to the official draw mechanics.
GPC offers three one-off Packs:
Try Pack – ₱49: 7 days of Partner Deals access and 1 free draw entry.
Sulit Pack – ₱149: 14 days of Partner Deals access, 6 free draw entries and eligibility for the ₱500 Bonus Reward.
Ginto Pack – ₱349: 30 days of Partner Deals access, 20 free draw entries and eligibility for the ₱500 Bonus Reward.
Participants may purchase multiple GPC Packs, with no limit on the number of Packs purchased, subject to the official draw mechanics.
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) can also purchase GPC Packs for their loved ones in the Philippines, allowing eligible family members to participate in upcoming draws. Purchases must be registered using the Philippine recipient’s name and contact details.
Each Pack is a one-time purchase with no membership, subscription, automatic renewal or referral requirement.
For more information:
Buy a GPC Pack
View Current Draw and Official Mechanics
View Confirmed Winners and Prize Records
GPC Draws are open to eligible Philippine residents aged 18 and above. Official mechanics, eligibility requirements, entry cut-offs and winner verification conditions apply.
About Ginto Privilege Club
Founded in September 2025, Ginto Privilege Club (GPC) is a consumer platform serving the Philippine market through one-off GPC Packs, access to Partner Deals and scheduled promotional draws.
GPC aims to provide accessible rewards and practical lifestyle benefits through clearly published Pack inclusions, transparent draw mechanics and verified prize fulfilment.
GPC operates without memberships, subscriptions, referral commissions or multi-level marketing structures.
by Ferry Bayu | Oct 13, 2026 | Business
Sprout Solutions, a Workday Innovation Partner, positions local payroll as an addition to a company’s global HR setup, not a migration away from it
MANILA, PHILIPPINES. Multinational companies and large local employers that run Workday as their global HR system of record can address Philippine payroll and statutory requirements without replacing, rebuilding, or migrating away from that investment. Sprout Solutions, a Workday Innovation Partner and the People-first AI Platform for payroll, compliance, and work, can integrate Sprout Payroll with Workday through APIs, so that local payroll execution can run alongside the global HR environment instead of competing with it.
For multinationals operating in the Philippines, that removes a common friction point: meeting local statutory requirements without unwinding the global HR system they already run.
Global HR and local payroll solve different problems
Workday gives organizations a centralized and consistent employee record across countries. Philippine payroll operates inside a separate framework of statutory contributions, filing schedules, contribution rules, and labor regulations, and those requirements apply regardless of which HR platform a company has standardized on.
For most multinationals, the practical question is not whether the global HR platform can be asked to do more. It is whether local payroll can operate alongside it without duplicate records, parallel maintenance, or disconnected processes.
The manual load sits between systems, not inside payroll
Philippine payroll teams rarely struggle with the calculations themselves. The load tends to come from preparing each pay cycle: moving employee changes from one system to another, validating attendance records, and reviewing and reconciling compensation inputs before every cut-off. When the global HR system and the local payroll platform are not connected, those steps fall back on manual transfers, spreadsheets, and duplicate encoding.
The resulting operational risk is not always visible. A missed employee update can affect payroll. A discrepancy between systems can delay processing. A late correction can carry downstream effects into statutory filings with agencies such as the Social Security System (SSS), PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
A Philippine payroll layer, not a second HR system
Sprout Payroll handles Philippine payroll processing and statutory compliance, including SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, and BIR requirements, along with the local payroll rules that global systems typically do not compute natively: night differential, holiday pay, rest day pay, and final pay. Sprout monitors regulatory developments from those agencies and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), so that payroll reflects statutory changes as they take effect rather than being configured once and left in place.
How the integration works, and what stays in Workday
Sprout’s API capabilities can support integration with Workday, with the specific setup scoped to each organization’s Workday configuration, data requirements, and governance model. Workday can remain the authoritative source for employee data, while Sprout Payroll works with only the information it needs to process local payroll accurately. Connecting the two systems in this way can reduce re-keying, duplicate maintenance, and the reconciliation work that builds up when two systems hold overlapping records.
Review and audit trails stay with HR, Finance, & IT
“Choosing Workday and choosing a Philippine payroll provider solve two different problems, and organizations get better results when they treat those as complementary decisions rather than competing ones,” said Kislay Chandra, Chief Operations Officer at Sprout Solutions. “Workday stays as the system of record. Our job is to make local payroll execution fit naturally into that environment, with the review steps and audit trail that HR, Finance, and IT already expect from every other business process.”
Companies keep their existing Workday governance model and global HR configuration. Depending on how the integration is scoped, HR, Finance, and IT can review employee changes before payroll processing begins, approve what moves into payroll, see exactly what information is being shared, and retain a complete audit trail across the workflow. The intended outcome is less manual payroll preparation, stronger compliance controls, audit-ready records, and fewer reconciliation issues at cut-off.
That governance layer matters most in large, multi-layered organizations, where additional approval steps, more complex reporting structures, and multiple payroll schedules make undocumented manual handoffs harder to defend.
Where Workday customers in the Philippines can start
Companies already using Workday with employees or operations in the Philippines can talk to Sprout about adding Philippine-compliant payroll to an existing setup and scoping an integration based on their Workday environment and requirements at https://discover.sprout.ph/workday-x-sprout-compliant-payroll/.
The Sprout Solutions partner profile is also available on the Workday Marketplace at https://marketplace.workday.com/en-US/pages/find-a-partner/partner-profile?vendor=d7df0e78-e008-45e5-9c3c-6d51eda378ef.
About Sprout Solutions Phil Inc
Sprout Solutions is the People-First AI platform for payroll, compliance, and work. Launched in 2015 and recognized as the Philippines’ largest homegrown SaaS company, Sprout serves over 2,000 client organizations and more than 400,000 active users, and processes over ₱135 billion in payroll annually. The platform spans core HR and payroll, talent management, employee retention, and operations management, extended by workforce analytics, Sidekick AI assistants and agents, and managed services for payroll and compliance execution. Built for Philippine labor law, Sprout is ISO 27001 certified and was named Payroll Software Supplier of the Year 2026 at the Global Payroll Awards. Learn more at https://sprout.ph.
This press release has also been published on VRITIMES.
by Ferry Bayu | Oct 12, 2026 | Business
The 44th ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM) and its Associated Meetings and the 26th ASEAN Energy Business Forum (AEBF-26) officially commenced today in Manila, Philippines, bringing together ASEAN energy ministers, industry leaders, and stakeholders to advance regional energy cooperation.
The Joint Opening Ceremony was held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) and officially opened by H.E. Sharon S. Garin, Secretary of the Department of Energy of the Philippines and Chair of the 44th AMEM, after a special remarks by H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General of ASEAN.
As ASEAN Chair in 2026, the Philippines has set out the Priority Economic Deliverable (PED) and Annual Priorities (APs) for the energy sector. The PED for 2026 focuses on the ASEAN Power Grid (APG), with efforts centred on the operationalisation of the Enhanced APG MOU and the development of legal and regulatory guidelines for a regional submarine power cable framework.
Alongside the PED, ASEAN is advancing seven Annual Priorities (APs) under the Philippines’ Chairship:
- 9th ASEAN Energy Outlook (AEO9)
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ASEAN Nuclear Power Plant Financing and Human Resources Development Study
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ASEAN CCUS Assessment and Business Model Study
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Upstream Oil and Gas Fiscal Benchmarking Study.
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Sustainable ASEAN Energy Management Certification Scheme (SAEMAS).
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Study on Accelerating Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and Advanced Technologies for Variable Renewable Energy Integration.
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Study on Cross-Border Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) Market and Financial Assessment.
Held in conjunction with 44th AMEM is the 26th ASEAN Energy Business Forum, which provides a platform connecting government, industry, financial institutions, development partners, and other stakeholders to exchange perspectives and explore opportunities supporting ASEAN’s energy priorities.
About the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE)
The ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) is an intergovernmental organisation driving multilateral energy cooperation and policy coordination among ASEAN Member States. Formally established on 1 January 1999 in Jakarta, Indonesia, ACE serves as the regional energy think tank, catalyst, and knowledge hub for ASEAN. Hosted by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of Indonesia, ACE’s office is located in Jakarta, Indonesia. For more information: aseanenergy.org.
For further inquiries: co***********@*********gy.org.
by Ferry Bayu | Oct 11, 2026 | Business
Zatoria, a new pre-loved fashion marketplace preparing to launch in the Philippines, is creating a star-studded digital destination where celebrity closets, designer pieces, coveted fashion finds, sustainable brands, luxury curators, and authenticated resale specialists can come together. Zatoria is built around a bigger idea: use the reach and influence of the people shaping fashion to make sustainability and purpose part of mainstream fashion culture. The platform gives celebrities, influencers, designers, brands, and other personalities a space to showcase pre-loved items and ethically crafted pieces, while putting their stories, values, and advocacies directly in front of the people who follow them. In doing so, Zatoria aims to make sustainable fashion more visible, aspirational, and accessible, turning influence into an opportunity to encourage conscious consumption and amplify causes that matter. Purpose is also built into the marketplace. Through Zatoria’s built-in giving mechanism, participating sellers can optionally funnel a portion of their sales to vetted charitable organizations, allowing individual transactions to support causes they care about. As Zatoria prepares for launch, the platform is inviting buyers, sellers, fashion enthusiasts, and supporters of circular fashion to join its Wishlist and become part of its growing community. Join the Zatoria Wishlist: https://zatoria.net/.
Imagine shopping in a fashion marketplace where the pieces come with more than a price tag. A dress that turned heads on the red carpet, a signature couture piece from a celebrated designer’s collection, or a coveted handbag that once belonged to a favorite celebrity. Now imagine that the person selling it can also choose to turn part of that sale into a contribution to a vetted charitable organization.
That is the idea behind Zatoria, a new pre-loved fashion marketplace preparing to launch in the Philippines, bringing together fashion, celebrity closets, personal stories, sustainability, and purposeful commerce in one digital destination.
Through its built-in giving mechanism, Zatoria gives sellers the option to funnel a portion of their sales to vetted charities. The mechanism is designed to make giving part of the marketplace experience while allowing sellers to decide whether they want to participate and how much they want to contribute.
Designed as a star-studded marketplace for pre-loved fashion, Zatoria is creating a space where celebrities, influencers, designers, and luxury curators can give pieces from their wardrobes a new life while connecting with buyers who appreciate the stories behind what they wear.
At the same time, Zatoria will feature sustainable brands creating ethically crafted pieces, giving conscious fashion labels a dedicated platform to showcase their products, tell their stories, and highlight the values and practices behind what they make. By bringing pre-loved fashion together with thoughtfully made alternatives, Zatoria aims to make more sustainable choices easier to discover and more visible to a mainstream fashion audience.
Zatoria also brings a social layer to the shopping experience. Sellers can share daily updates, behind-the-scenes moments, styling content, new arrivals, and other posts with their followers, creating ongoing conversations around the people, pieces, and causes behind each storefront. Buyers and followers can like and comment on posts, turning the marketplace into a community where people can connect with personalities and brands beyond individual transactions.
Rather than treating pre-loved fashion as simply a transaction between strangers, Zatoria is building an experience around the people, brands, stories, and advocacies behind what we wear.
Where celebrity closets meet conscious fashion
Celebrity style has always influenced what people discover, covet, and wear. Zatoria brings that influence into the resale space by creating a marketplace where shoppers can discover pre-loved pieces from the closets and collections of personalities they follow and admire.
The platform is designed to give sellers their own storefronts and profiles, allowing them to showcase their pieces while sharing the stories behind them.
For shoppers, the experience goes beyond scrolling through listings. They can discover distinctive fashion, explore curated collections, learn more about the people behind the pieces, and find items with a history of their own.
Zatoria’s sustainable brand offering adds another dimension to that experience. Shoppers can discover ethically crafted pieces from brands that are building their businesses around more responsible approaches to fashion, alongside pre-loved pieces that already exist and are ready for their next chapter.
Together, these offerings create a fashion ecosystem where a celebrity closet can sit alongside a coveted designer piece, an ethically crafted product from a sustainable brand, or a carefully curated luxury find.
A marketplace built around people and stories
At the heart of Zatoria is a simple belief: pre-loved does not mean past its prime.
Fashion pieces can have multiple lives. A bag can move from one collection to another. A special dress can become part of someone else’s memorable occasion. A vintage item can find a new generation of admirers.
Zatoria wants to preserve that sense of history while giving the people and brands behind fashion a platform to share what matters to them.
Sellers will have the opportunity to tell the stories behind their pieces, giving buyers context that traditional resale listings often leave out. Through their profiles and social posts, they can also give followers a window into their lives, collections, creative process, advocacies, and the stories behind the things they choose to sell.
For sustainable brands, this creates space to communicate more than what they make. They can showcase their craftsmanship, materials, values, and approach to responsible production, helping shoppers understand the thinking behind the products they buy.
This storytelling is central to Zatoria’s larger vision of making sustainability more visible and relatable. By bringing influential personalities, conscious brands, and their communities into the same space, the platform aims to help move sustainable fashion beyond a niche audience and into everyday fashion culture.
That approach also supports Zatoria’s broader focus on circular fashion. Instead of letting quality pieces sit unused in wardrobes, the marketplace encourages them to keep moving, extending their useful life while giving buyers another way to access fashion.
A seamless experience for sellers and supporters
Zatoria is designed to make selling as simple as shopping. Sellers can upload and post their pre-loved pieces directly to their profiles, while buyers can purchase items instantly through a streamlined checkout or bid on exclusive pieces through the platform’s auction feature.
The marketplace offers two ways to sell:
Direct Sale – Buyers can add items to their cart and check out instantly, creating a familiar and convenient shopping experience.
Auction – Sellers can put selected or exclusive pieces up for auction, allowing fans and fashion enthusiasts to bid for items and creating an interactive way to discover and acquire special pieces.
Zatoria is also designed to handle the operational side of each transaction, including payment processing, logistics, and delivery, giving sellers a more seamless way to sell while allowing buyers to complete their purchases through the marketplace.
Shopping with a purpose
Purpose is built into Zatoria’s marketplace model through its optional giving mechanism.
Sellers who want to give back can choose to direct a portion of their sales to vetted charitable organizations through the platform. The giving mechanism is designed to make charitable contributions a seamless part of the selling experience, while allowing sellers to decide whether, and how much, they want to give.
A single transaction can therefore have several outcomes: a pre-loved piece gets a new owner, a seller earns from something they no longer need, a buyer discovers something meaningful, and a portion of the sale can support a cause.
Zatoria’s purpose-driven approach sits alongside its focus on convenience. The marketplace is being built to bring discovery, seller storefronts, social content, storytelling, purchasing, payments, and fulfillment into a streamlined online experience.
Zatoria is opening its Wishlist
Zatoria is currently preparing for launch and inviting future buyers, sellers, fashion enthusiasts, and supporters of circular fashion to join its Wishlist.
Those who sign up will be among the first to receive updates as Zatoria moves closer to launch and will have the opportunity to be part of the marketplace’s growing community from the beginning.
Join the Zatoria Wishlist: https://zatoria.net/.
The pre-launch period will also allow Zatoria to bring together a community of people who believe fashion can be more personal, more circular, and more purposeful.
With a growing network of personalities and fashion communities being brought into the conversation, Zatoria is setting out to create a marketplace where star power meets storytelling, style meets sustainability, and pre-loved pieces get their next chapter.
The marketplace is coming. And the next great piece in your wardrobe might already have a story waiting for you.
About Zatoria Inc.
About Zatoria Zatoria is a pre-loved fashion marketplace designed to connect buyers and sellers through curated fashion, personal stories, and purposeful commerce. The platform brings together celebrity and influencer closets, designer and sustainable fashion, luxury curators, collectors, and fashion enthusiasts in a digital marketplace built around discovery, storytelling, convenience, and circular fashion. Zatoria gives sellers the opportunity to create storefronts and profiles, showcase their pieces, tell the stories behind them, and reach buyers looking for distinctive pre-loved fashion. Its built-in giving mechanism also gives participating sellers the option to direct a portion of their sales to vetted charitable organizations. Zatoria’s vision is to create a more personal, purposeful, and engaging way to discover and circulate fashion, giving pre-loved pieces new owners, new stories, and, when sellers choose, the opportunity to support causes that matter.
by Ferry Bayu | Oct 11, 2026 | Business
Money Guro, Cebuana Lhuillier’s financial education initiative led by President and CEO Jean Henri Lhuillier, has long helped Filipinos make sound financial decisions. Now, the platform is taking its mission a step further by helping Filipinos turn what they learn about money into action with the launch of Money Guro Loans.
From its inception, Money Guro has stood for more than just teaching Filipinos how money works. It has championed the idea that empowerment comes when knowledge is paired with the right tools to act on opportunities and address financial needs. With Money Guro Loans, this approach extends to Filipino entrepreneurs who may need additional resources to keep their businesses moving or pursue growth opportunities.
Jean Henri Lhuillier emphasized the deeper purpose behind this expansion: “Financial literacy is only meaningful when it empowers people to act. With Money Guro Loans, we are giving Filipino entrepreneurs the means to turn knowledge into opportunity, to grow their businesses, and to strengthen their communities. This is the next chapter of our commitment to financial inclusion.”
Money Guro Loans brings this approach to entrepreneurship through four financing options designed around different types of small businesses. The MerryBiz Loan supports small retailers preparing for the Christmas season, helping them stock inventory and secure supplies for increased demand. The ClickStart Loan caters to online sellers seeking funds to expand their digital storefronts. The SheGlows Loan supports women entrepreneurs in the beauty and personal care sector, while the FoodTrip Loan provides capital for home-based food sellers, bakers, food carts, and carinderias.
The loans range from ₱5,000 to ₱20,000, with terms of three to six months and a streamlined online application process. Once approved, Cebuana Lhuillier branches handle disbursement and repayment.
The launch of Money Guro Loans expands the platform’s role from financial education to support entrepreneurs’ day-to-day businesses. Whether preparing for a busy season, growing an online store, or meeting the needs of a food or beauty business, entrepreneurs can access financing designed around their specific circumstances.
As Cebuana Lhuillier continues to advance its commitment to financial inclusion, Money Guro Loans reflects a broader effort to make financial education more relevant to Filipinos’ everyday needs. It brings the platform’s lessons closer to real-life decisions, giving entrepreneurs another way to put what they know into practice.
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