Women in small businesses get big boost in Mandaluyong

Around 300 sari-sari store and eatery owners in Mandaluyong City can look forward easy-access loans and training programs designed to improve their fledgling businesses, through a local government agreement with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) and Coca-Cola Philippines Inc.

Mandaluyong Mayor Benhur Abalos said the Sari-sari Store Training and Access to Resources (Star) program is a “practical, timely and simple” initiative that will not only help women micro-entrepreneurs improve the way they conduct business but also spur economic activity in the city.

“Most of the businesses here in Mandaluyong are sari-sari stores and majority of their owners belong to the lower economic bracket. They would usually not have an inventory of the products they are selling. [This program] offers them, among others, a system wherein they will now have an inventory of their products so they wouldn’t haphazardly restock their stores. To top it off, it also has a financing scheme,” Abalos said.

5M empowered women

He added that the Star program, which is part of a global Coca-Cola initiative to empower 5 million women worldwide by 2020, is also a “great equalizer” for the city’s thriving business environment.

Tesda Director General Joel Villanueva said the soft drinks company is aiming to help 200,000 store owners in the country by 2020. To date, the program has helped 26,576 store owners in 23 provinces.

4 more cities

Mandaluyong is the fifth city in Metro Manila where the program has been launched, following Pasay, Manila, Taguig and Makati.

Tesda Director for Special Projects Sonia Lipio explained that for the next three months, qualified Mandaluyong residents will be taught basic accountancy and bookkeeping, among others. The micro-entrepreneurs are required to spend four hours every week for the training.

Lipio added that after their training, the store owners would then be given access to microfinancing institutions so they could inject additional capital to expand their businesses. In Manila, Lipio said their partner institution is ASA Philippines Foundation.

“We’re very proud [of this program] because we’re not only teaching them how to manage a business but we’re also giving them access to financial resources,” Villanueva said. Jovic Yee