CEBU CITY – In its bid to provide more livelihood, a Cebu City-based networking company with rice as its primary product is expanding its operations in Luzon.

Justhon Ang, chief executive officer and president of Uprise, said that by January next year, the company will open its branch in San Jose del Monte City in Bulacan. It will be the first Uprise branch outside Cebu.

“There was really a clamor from the people in Luzon that we put up a branch there. There were several requests,” Ang said.

Ang said they answered the call to open a branch in Luzon as part of the company’s vision to provide livelihood. “We want to tap the vision and mission of the company which is to establish livelihood in the community.”

Uprise is a multi-level marketing firm that sells premium rice called “Jasmine” imported from Vietnam.

Ang said they decided to put up their first Luzon branch in Bulacan because of its strategic location. “Bulacan is accessible for people coming from the north and south especially that a mass transportation project there is about to be completed so it is a very ideal place,” Ang said.

Uprise currently has nine branches in Cebu City, Mandaue City, Lapu-Lapu City, Talisay City, Bogo City, Danao City, San Carlos City in Negros Occidental, Tagbilaran City in Bohol, and Bantayan, Cebu.

“We are targeting to open branches in Southern and Northern Luzon,” said Ang, whose family has been into rice importation for the past 20 years.

Ang said Uprise has at least 30,000 distributors and he is hoping that the reputation that it built in Metro Cebu will lead to a successful venture in Luzon.

“We can’t deny that people in Luzon are skeptic when it comes to networking but we are legitimate company from the Visayas that is now expanding in Luzon. There is nothing to fear. It’s a good business, we have the permit,” said Ang.