Xavier University and Pryce Corporation unveiled the construction of a student mall at the XU main campus. The project is called the Xavier University–Pryce Center for Entrepreneurship.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held on March 29 at the lot between the Science Center and Agriculture Buildings, where the center will rise. Construction is expected to be completed this September.
The facility will serve as a laboratory for emerging entrepreneurs. It will support the Student Entrepreneurship Program (SEP) of XU intended to initiate and nurture student-led and operated enterprises.
“What you learn from your books is very much different from what is out there,” said XU President Fr Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ. He stressed the importance of having a facility where students can have actual hands-on experience in starting and running a business.
The Xavier University–Pryce Center for Entrepreneurship will operate like a student business incubator. Students are eligible to apply to the SEP. Business ideas that will be accepted for incubation in the center will be provided with seed capital alongside consultancy and advisory services, marketing assistance, technology development and business linkages. The student business owners will also be taught entrepreneurial values, business ethics, environmental stewardship and corporate social responsibility.
The center will have around 13 shopping stalls where the students can display and market their products. The center will also be equipped with a training room for developing entrepreneurship modules and a business center complete with computer units, a telephone line and an internet connection.
Students not just from Business courses but also from other fields like Engineering and Education have already started submitting proposals for business incubation.
“What we are sowing here, the ten talents that we have planted with your generosity will grow ten times more,” said Fr Villarin on the partnership with Pryce Corporation.
Pryce Corporation Chairman and XU alumnus Salvador Escaño encouraged the students and the management of the center to come up with good business ideas.
“A small town is a good breeding ground for entrepreneurs,” he shared. He lauded the contributions of entrepreneurs in generating employment for the community.
Through the Xavier University–Pryce Center for Entrepreneurship, “the chances of producing real life entrepreneurs will be much greater,” Escaño said.