Store owners taught to level up under Leni project

WAY WITH NUMBERS Vice President Leni Robredo addresses participants of a financial literacy program for fledgling entrepreneurs in Pateros. —Photo courtesy of Office of the Vice President

Vice President Leni Robredo offered practical advice to 54 “sari-sari” store owners who recently completed a four-month-long financial literacy workshop under her “Angat Buhay” project: It’s OK not to be rich.

“I always tell my children not to dream of becoming rich. The rich have many problems. It’s OK to always be struggling. Our only dream is to give our families what they need,” Robredo told the gathering on Wednesday.

She was in Pateros to launch the “BasiKaalaman” financial workshop, a project of her office in partnership with Hapinoy and Sunlife Foundation.
Under the program, the store owners underwent training from March to June, learning basic market research, leadership principles, disaster preparedness and family dynamics, among others.

Small but capable

One of the participants, 36-year-old Analiza Nalayog, said it was only through the workshop that she learned to compute the daily earnings from her one-year-old sari-sari store in Barangay San Roque.

The training, she said, equipped her with the know-how to transform her store into a one-stop shop where customers could also pay their electric and water bills or purchase cell phone load.

Previously employed as a timekeeper at an airline company, Nalayog said the pressure and painstaking paperwork had taken their toll on her eyesight, forcing her to quit.

Her sari-sari store now provides her with a viable source of livelihood. “It may be small, but we were taught how it could thrive,” Nalayog said.

Another participant, Juanita Pelegrina, said the training had changed her attitude toward her business, from being lax to meticulous especially regarding inventory. No more freebies even to family members, she said with a smile.

Community spirit

But one of the highlights of the workshop, according to Pelegrina, was the sense of community it fostered.

“We could exchange ideas with other store owners—and learn from one another,” she said.

The “BasiKaalaman” training, which was infused with P2 million from Sunlife and conducted by Hapinoy staff, will also be conducted in other Angat Buhay areas in Metro Manila, such as the cities of Caloocan, Malabon, Marikina, Muntinlupa and Pasay.

Store owners who successfully completed the program each received P10,000 as seed capital from the Office of the Vice President and private donors.