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SMALL STEPS TO SuccessCELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF PARTNERSHIP WITH MICROENTREPRENEURS 1 2 SMALL STEPS TO SuccessCELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF PARTNERSHIP WITH MICROENTREPRENEURS 5 MessagesContents from the Citi Microentrepreneur of the Year Awards Partners 9 The Great Promise in Small Beginnings 12 Ten Years of the Citi Microentrepreneur of the Year Awards 14 Jennilyn Antonio: A Spread of Good Fortune 16 Corazon Bautista: Sewing Dreams 18 Dionesia dela Peña: A Twist of Good Taste 20 Orlando Dulay: Dreaming Atop a Stack of Shells 22 Nolie Estocado: A Christmas-y Story 24 Carina Gonato: A Recipe Nicely Wrapped-Up 26 Felicidad Kalalo: The Unsinkable Nanay Fely 28 Ester Lumbo: Weaving Her Way Back 30 Consuelo Valenzuela: Turning Leaves into Gold 32 Cherry Yack, Sr.: A Man Named Cherry 34 A Hand Up Over a Hand Out: Insights from the CMA National Selection Committee 37 Citi Microentrepreneur of the Year Awards Alumni MESSAGE FROM BSP The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas joins in celebrating ten successful years of running the Citi Microentrepreneur of the Year Awards (CMA) Program! The effective partnership between Citi, the Microfinance Council of the Philippines Inc., and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has allowed us to provide a fitting venue to highlight the exceptional stories of our country’s industrious and resilient microentrepreneurs. This book will give a sneak peek into the ten years of CMA. Each client’s story is an inspiring account of how 5 Messages from the Citi Microentrepreneur of the Year Awards Partners microfinance has unlocked opportunities and improved lives. Each business is a symbol of the creativity and 9 The Great Promise in Small Beginnings ingenuity of the Filipino entrepreneurial poor. Each 12 Ten Years of the Citi Microentrepreneur of the Year Awards journey is one of resilience and hard work, proving that no obstacle is insurmountable. CMA has allowed us to 14 Jennilyn Antonio: A Spread of Good Fortune take this journey and realize the enormous potential of microfinance to uplift lives, communities, and local 16 Corazon Bautista: Sewing Dreams economies. 18 Dionesia dela Peña: A Twist of Good Taste CMA has given us a unique vantage point to see the 20 Orlando Dulay: Dreaming Atop a Stack of Shells developments that have taken place in the microfinance industry in the Philippines. Ten years ago, microfinance 22 Nolie Estocado: A Christmas-y Story was limited to microcredit provided by leading nongovernmental organizations, cooperatives, and a 24 Carina Gonato: A Recipe Nicely Wrapped-Up handful of banks. 26 Felicidad Kalalo: The Unsinkable Nanay Fely AMANDO TETANGCO, JR. Today, microfinance players, the range of products Ester Lumbo: Weaving Her Way Back Governor and services, as well as the delivery channels, 28 Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas have significantly increased and diversified. These 30 Consuelo Valenzuela: Turning Leaves into Gold developments have nurtured a competitive environment which, coupled with the Bangko Sentral’s enabling 32 Cherry Yack, Sr.: A Man Named Cherry policies and regulations, have ensured microfinance clients more access to better designed and appropriately 34 A Hand Up Over a Hand Out: Insights from the CMA National Selection Committee priced products. 37 Citi Microentrepreneur of the Year Awards Alumni We have all come a long way, yet there is definitely more that needs to be done. Rest assured that the Bangko Sentral remains committed to the development of microfinance and in building a truly inclusive financial system where everyone has access to financial services. 5 We are delighted to be celebrating a decade of the Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards (CMA) Program in the Philippines. The idea for the CMA was born ten years ago as Citi was marking a special milestone of 100 years in six Asian countries including the Philippines. It was developed through a public-private collaboration among leading institutions – Citi with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Microfinance Council of the Philippines Inc. (MCPI) –in an effort to raise awareness for microfinance and recognize inspiring individuals who, with access to microcredit, have been able to start or grow their microenterprise and raise their standard of living. What began as a local country initiative has evolved into a global program driven and funded by the Citi Foundation. Today, the CMA recognizes outstanding microentrepreneurs in 32 countries around the world. We wish to take this opportunity to congratulate and thank all our partners for a decade of support in the Philippines, from our partners the BSP and the MCPI, to the microfinance practitioners, as well as the numerous volunteers and Citi colleagues who contributed to the success and growth of this program. With your support, more than 80 outstanding Filipino microentrepreneurs PAMELA FLAHERTY President & CEO, Citi Foundation Director, Corporate Citizenship, Citi 6 MESSAGE FROM CITI have been rewarded through the CMA program. The fact that many of these winners have grown their businesses and are now managing small scale enterprises that provide employment to hundreds of people is testament that we are adding real measurable value to local communities in the Philippines. Microfinance and microenterprises play an important role in the development of any economy and society. We are deeply committed to the CMA program, which has enabled us to raise awareness of this field and increase the number of microenterprises that generate new income and employment opportunities for low income individuals. This is why we have invested philanthropically in microfinance and enterprise development for 30 years and why we see the Philippines as a key market in Citi and the Citi Foundation’s financial inclusion efforts across the world. In this book, we selected 10 microentrepreneurs awarded over the history of the Philippines’ CMA program. Their compelling stories lend a face to our philanthropic investment in the field of microfinance and microenterprise development. From their humble beginnings, these men and women are now shaping the future of their communities. We thank you for taking this journey with us over the last 10 years. SANJIV VOHRA Citi Country Officer for the Philippines 7 MESSAGE FROM MCPI It has been ten years since Citi Philippines, in partnership with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Microfinance Council of the Philippines, Inc. (MCPI) first launched its annual awards for the outstanding microentrepreneurs in the country. As we extend our warm felicitations for Citi’s success, we are grateful for the opportunity to serve as one of the program implementors. It is a source of great pride to us to be part of this initiative. The Citi Microentrepreneur of the Year Awards (CMA) Program is a celebration of economic triumph amidst great odds at the grassroots level. Through the various nominations submitted every year, we have witnessed the vibrancy and vigour of what was once an underserved sector. We have seen the transformation of these microentrepreneurs—from budding handicraft-makers to producers of world-class quality products. They have become responsible employers and role models of good citizenship—local economic heroes in their own right. We are privileged to have known them and honored to have assisted them, one way or another. They have shown that self-belief, vision, passion, love for work—and some catalytic support from microfinance institutions can lead to successful micro business undertakings. MILA MERCADO-BUNKER Chairperson By honoring microentrepreneurs who have demonstrated Microfinance Council of the Philippines, Inc. exemplary performance in the pursuit of their livelihood and crafts, CMA acknowledges their awe-inspiring stories and their economic contributions, not only to their own families but to the local communities as well. To the country’s ingenious and hardworking microentrepreneurs, you are the real wealth of our nation and we salute you! 8 The Great Promise in Small Beginnings Private corporations and non-profit organizations, together with partners in the public sector, have defied the odds and empowered emerging entrepreneurial Filipinos through all kinds of initiatives, including an awards program that recognizes and rewards the most outstanding microbusinesses in the country. Until the 1980s, microfinance for Filipinos meant GOVERNMENT’S ROLE money lenders who would extend unsecured loans Government agencies tried to fill the gap with but usually charged interest rates as high as 20 various credit programs targeting specific percent of the principal, earning these creditors the marginalized groups. Some programs provided moniker “5-6”. outright cash or extended credit in kind like Making the rounds of owners of small businesses— agricultural inputs. ambulant vendors, sari-sari store owners, artisans, Government agencies would allocate specific farmers, and the like, they personally handed out the amounts from their annual appropriations for these cash and collected payments often on a daily basis. credit schemes. But because the money was drawn The rates might have seemed usurious to those from government resources, the assistance was who had access to formal financial institutions, often viewed as a dole-out rather than a loan, and but these loans were a lifeline for emerging recipients did not feel obligated to repay the loan. entrepreneurs. It was one of the few sources of credit With very low repayment success, funds they could easily and quickly access to keep their available for such schemes steadily dropped, ventures afloat. and instead of becoming self-sustaining as Despite the existence in the Philippines of a large envisioned, the programs eventually died after informal sector engaged in microentrepreneurship, running out of money. small businesses found it difficult to access loans After the microcredit movement initiated by from formal and financial institutions. With no assets university professor Muhammad Yunus made to guarantee their loans, struggling ventures were such a positive impact in Bangladesh, many other considered very high risk debtors. developing countries, including the Philippines, Microentrepreneurs, many of them knowing only looked into its viability and replicability.