In the Philippines — Women entrepreneurs in action


By: Marcia Metcalfe, Meadville Tribune

Laguna, Philippines, February 7, 2007 — Nina Antiporo is a proud member of the Katupayan credit center located in this densely populated area near San Pablo, about two hours drive south of Manila. She attends the weekly meeting of her credit group with 29 other women who live in the densely populated neighborhood.

This “center” as they are called, is one of thousands throughout the Philippines that are part of the broad network of village banking or microfinance services provided by the Center for Agricultural Development (CARD).

The women meet weekly, dressed in their center uniforms which can be a T-shirt with their center’s name, or brightly colored shirt, laminated name tags/CARD ID displayed proudly on neck lanyards. Among their members are grandmothers, mothers, and even some grown daughters who are also CARD members. They are accompanied by their children, their grandchildren, the occasional dog, and sometimes even a chicken whose tied legs provide a convenient way to park it on a nearby tree while the meeting is going on. Even before the meeting begins the women turn their attention to the “business” of the center. They present their CARD bank passbooks and their money.

A small recycled cardboard box serves as the till and it quickly fills with coins and colored Philippine peso notes as they all provide their weekly loan payments which vary depending on the size of the loan. They also make weekly contributions to their life insurance and pension program (about 40 cents U.S.), and their required savings accounts (about 20 cents).

Nina used her first CARD loan to start a “sari-sari” store. Sari-sari stores can be found in every neighborhood or place that people are living and sell a wide variety of products that people need every day. These usually include food items, drinks, sometimes fresh vegetables and fruits, and hundreds of different household products that are sold in single-use packages. Each package contains just enough soap, toothpaste, coffee, sugar, laundry detergent, etc., that a family might need for one day.

At first this is puzzling to those of us from the land of supermarkets and mega-stores and, more importantly, with readily available cash or credit to be able to buy things in quantity. The sari-sari stores know their customers — poor people who rarely have enough cash at one time to buy more than what is immediately needed that day.

Nina explains that the CARD loan meant that she could buy a greater variety of products and therefore attract more customers to her store. And it worked. Soon she was able to repay that loan and take out another larger loan to start a business that makes picture frames and other home décor items. Her dream is to eventually hire others and to export her products to the US and other countries.

Florentina Garcia is a member of the same credit group. She talked with us about another important benefit of being a CARD member — education. CARD’s partnership with Freedom from Hunger has enabled it to provide business education to the women members so they can improve their skills in areas such as marketing, keeping track of their sales and reducing their costs. Florentina used this information to help her decide to switch her business from selling LPG gas to bottled water. The price of gas was rising and fewer people wanted to buy it, but at the same time she noticed a growing demand for bottled water.

She has been able to earn enough money to pay school fees for her grandchildren and dreams of being able to help them go to college. Other credit group members also participate in health education sessions which provide important information about how to protect the health of themselves and their children.

My journey as a Freedom from Hunger delegate has provided me with many opportunities to meet and talk with women like Nina and Florentina. I have learned so much about them and from them, and am grateful to both Freedom from Hunger and CARD for affording me such a rich opportunity. They work very hard, often at more than one job.

When I have asked these women about their dreams for their futures and their families, they respond like women everywhere. They yearn for the security of knowing they can provide for the needs of their families. They aspire to send their children through school and even to college. And in a country where millions have no option but to go abroad in order to work and send money home, they are very grateful to be able to earn a living while also remaining with their families and raising their children. In the words of one women, “with CARD, my dreams have come true.”

NEXT: Metcalfe is now in the second week of her trip with Freedom from Hunger, shifting her focus to health care and strategies for improving health protection services for CARD members to further support them in their goals to achieve higher levels of financial security for themselves and their families. Her third article in this series will report on the second part of her journey and experiences in the Philippines.

Read more about Metcalfe's experience in the Philippines.

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Established in 1946, Freedom from Hunger works to bring innovative and self-help solutions to the fight against chronic hunger and poverty. In 1988 the organization developed Credit with Education, the world’s first program that combines the provision of micro credit loans to very poor women with vital health and business education.

Freedom from Hunger’s Credit with Education Program currently serves nearly 400,000 women, most of whom live on a dollar a day or less in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The program offers women working capital loans, from as little as $20 to as much as $300, to set up and expand home based businesses. The women have proven themselves to be excellent credit risks, repaying almost every penny they ever borrowed, a total of more than $380 million, plus interest.

Though a combination of cash credit and vital health and nutritional education, women can buy more and better food, invest in their children’s education, take control of their families’ health, and help each other have a greater influence in their communities.

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