Mandaue Chamber empowers women through WINNERs

CEBU, Philippines - In line with its advocacy to empower ordinary women to become successful entrepreneurs, the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI)  held its annual search for Women in Need Now Entrepreneurs and Role Models (WINNERs).

Now on its third year, WINNERs program has gained attention from an international organization, Asian Carriers Conference (ACC), which will also choose top 10 women to be recognized in front of over 1,400 delegates from 36 countries.

WINNERs program chairperson Carmel Salvador said that the support of ACC to the program is seen to expand the chamber's advocacy to empower women.

ACC is an international conference of telecommunication carriers from 36 countries including AT&T, ZTE and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), among others.

Aside from cash prizes which sum up to over P50 thousand to be given by the ACC, telecom firm PLDT also pledged to give scholarship program for the children of  the winners, as well as Cyberia Internet Cafe package, one year free broadband subscription, and cash prizes for top three winners.

Recently, the program committee led by Salvador chose the top 10 winners to complete for the ACC sub-category competition in September this year.

A total of 44 ordinary women entrepreneurs was chosen from different barangays in Mandaue City endorsed by the Barangay Development Coordinators.

These women whose micro-businesses are house-to-fish vending, sari-sari store, accessory making, carenderia, side-walk snack stand, RTW store, beauty parlor, among others, went through basic entrepreneurial skills training conducted by St. Theresa's College Business Administration Department and basic banking provided by Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC).

The top 20 candidates will officially compete in the grand finals to be held on August 20, 2013.

WINNERs has become one of the flagship events of the Mandaue Business Month (MBM) celebration held every month of August.

Salvador said the committee aims to expand this program that will not only limit the participants from Mandaue, but also  hopes to include other deserving women from all over Cebu in potential partnership with the Cebu Provincial government.

The past winners of the program in the last three years had been properly monitored by the chamber in coordination with the barangay development coordinators. — (FREEMAN)