Women and the economic miracle called the sari-sari store
Published : Sunday, June 10, 2012 00:00 Article Views : 535 Written by :
Lea Manto-Beltran, Staff Writer
Teresita Antonio makes 4000 a day from her sari-sari store
IN 1984, Nellie Cornel opened her sari-sari store with a start-up
capital of P800—an amount she was able to save from the P280-salary her
husband turned over every month.
With some iron sheets and light materials, the sari-sari store opened in
front of the family's humble home. It catered to small community in
Puerto Princesa from 3 in the morning, all the way to 12 midnight each
day. Nellie and her husband took turns manning the small the business,
clocking in long hours while taking care of three children—Nellie even
pregnant with the fourth—at that time.
Today, the sari-sari store has turned into a mini-grocery, situated on
the ground floor of the Cornels' four-storey building.
Asked how she was able to turn such a small venture into a successful
livelihood, Nellie replied that it all boils down to her "principle of
being simple."
She believes people do not need a lot of things in life to live
comfortably. Her mantra is to live
by the basics and avoid buying unnecessary luxuries. True enough, from
the earnings of their store, she has since been able to send all her
seven children to school.
Nellie is just one of the estimated 800,000 owners of sari-sari stores,
or retail stores, around the country. The majority of which is owned and
operated by women.
"Women entrepreneurs run the majority of the Philippines' retail
industry and they are fast becoming an economic powerhouse for this
country," related Guillermo Aponte, president and general manager of
Coca-Cola Philippines.
"By providing these women with the skills training and access to credit
and markets, they can more readily become successful engines for
economic and community development," he added.
Economic empowerment
In December 2010, the Coca-Cola system in the Philippines took the
challenge of Muhtar Kent, the company's chief executive officer, to
economically empower 5 million women all across the globe by 2020.
Called National Convergence Program on Empowering Grassroots Women
Entrepreneurs, this program has been mounted in the Philippines in
partnership with the Technical Education and Skills Development
Authority (Tesda), local government units, micro-finance institutions
and nongovernment organizations. Coca-Cola provides access to business
management education, operational training and financial planning to the
chosen women entrepreneurs.
The program was piloted in 2011 with 300 women in 10 cluster sites in
Palawan. The training involves essential skills like bookkeeping and
accounting, business planning and inventory management. This year, the
program is targeting 10,000 women business owners.
Coca-Cola and Tesda recently inked a memorandum of agreement for a
renewed partnership, the softdrink brand's chief legal counsel Cristina
Bernardino and the government agency's director general Joel Villanueva
and as signatories. Coca-Cola Philippines vice president for Public
Affairs and Communications, Diana Garza Ciarlante, witnessed this
landmark agreement that will economically empower 100,000 women
retailers by year 2020.
Tesda reinforced its support and commitment by issuing an order for the
creation of a National Project Management Team that will help mobilize
resources and networks from the national, regional, provincial and
municipal levels.
"We know that women can do more and do better than playing their typical
role as homemakers. Many of them have the confidence and commitment to
venture into small business or micro-enterprise, but don't know how to
go about it. This is where we believe our intervention is needed,"
Villanueva stated.
Business intervention
This is exactly what happened to Teresita Antonio, another sari-sari
store owner in Puerto Princesa who received support and guidance from
the program of Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines Inc.
Looking back, Teresita was teary-eyed as she recalled the hard life her
family endured in the Bicol region. Years before they moved to Puerto
Princesa City, her family depended on the P200 a day earning of her
husband who is a seasonal carpenter.
"If there were no carpentry jobs available, we had no money," she added.
In search for greener pastures, her family decided to move to Puerto
Princesa, only to find that the demand for carpentry was none the
better. It was then that she thought of putting up a sari-sari store to
help her husband. She pawned an old bracelet for capital—the only family
heirloom passed on to her by her late father. Raising P5,000, Teresita
opened a store named after her only son, John Clarence, and decided to
exclusively sell Coca-Cola products.
A Coca-Cola account developer noticed her store during the first few
months of its operation.
They extended support and guidance, teaching Teresita how to improve her
store and monitor her sales. She availed of the brand's promos and
merchandising equipment, which boosted the income of John Clarence store.
In a matter of four years, Teresita now makes P4,000 a day from the
sales of Coca-Cola and other basic supplies. She was able redeem her
family heirloom from the pawnshop, buy back her small family lot in
Bicol, and is now looking forward to a brighter future.
Inspiring Lola Bernadita
According to studies, women who have a regular income invest in the
education, nutrition and health of their children (or their relatives if
single), and therefore contribute to the solution of breaking poverty
cycles not only for their family but for the community as a whole.
Bernadita Rivamonde, a native of Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija, is just one
of such inspirational women who, up to this very day, is a steadfast
provider for her grandchildren and great grandchildren, some of whom
have also ventured in the same business of sari-sari stores, while
completing their college education.
Lola Bernardita, as she is fondly called by her family and friends,
turns 78 years old this year. She started to operate her sari-sari store
at the tender age of 15. Despite being poor, Lola Bernardita was able to
finish primary school with the highest honor as class valedictorian.
Since her family could not send her to school, she worked as a young
helper to several Chinese-owned stores in order to help her parents and
siblings.
When the Japanese-American war broke, she carried on with her duties and
guarded the store with diligence and honesty. When the owner of the
store came back after the war, they were amazed that their business was
secure, and as a token of their gratitude, they gave Lola Bernadita P40
for her honesty.
With that money, Lola Bernadita, bought several goods from the market
and began selling them in the town plaza. According to her, soft drinks
had always been part of her inventory because young men and women often
looked for refreshment after a walk in the park.
Two years on her mobile sari-sari store by the plaza, she met a young
soldier and they got married when she was 17. They were blessed with two
children but her husband passed away after 18 years of marriage. Since
then, she has been the sole bread winner of the family. They moved to
Puerto Princesa in 1987 after her eldest son died leaving her with his
children.
It was hard for Lola Bernadita but she took care of her grandchildren
and raised them with the earnings of her sari-sari store business.
During her start-up years in Puerto Princesa, Lola Bernadita was
grateful that Coca-Cola extended guidance, keeping retailers like her
abreast with promos and products. She can never forget the time her
granddaughter won in the three-minute "Hakot" text promo, bringing home
Coca-Cola products and other grocery items worth P105,000. Naturally,
the promo boosted Lola Bernadita's store inventory and increased her income.
Thank you Philippines
This project of empowering women is just one of the four pillars of
Coca-Cola's corporate social responsibility programs that aim to improve
the quality of life for thousands of Filipinos. (See sidebar).
Now, commemorating its 100th year in the country, the Coca-Cola system
in the Philippines is accelerating the implementation of
transformational key programs designed to make a lasting and positive
difference in the country for the next 100 years.
"I cannot think of a better way to say 'thank you' than to give back to
the Filipino people for making Coca-Cola part of their lives for the
last 100 years," said Aponte. "Our goal is to implement marketing and
community programs all across the country that will have a meaningful
and positive impact on the lives of many Filipinos for the next hundred
years."
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CARLOS ANI - International Microfinance Consultant - SEEDFINANCE Corporation Chairman
Mailing address: PO Box 90 UPLB Los Banos Laguna, Philippines 4031
Emails: carlosani@gmail.com , carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline Phone: +63495010127 (PLDT)
Cellphone Numbers: +639152919580 (Globe) and +639328590859 (Sun)
Websites:
CARLOSANI.COM - http://www.carlosani.com
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com
http://phildevfinance.blogspot.com
Family website - http://www.anifamily.net
SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
My News Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
Skype name: carlosaniph
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
