A multi-million business started with just P300

MANILA, Philippines - An export business must have been the farthest thing from her mind when public school teacher Lydia Malot looked at the P300 in her hand — her budget to make nata de coco. What was the value of P300 back in 1993? Even then, it would have been just enough for a good lunch or dinner for two.

Twenty-two years later, this amount has grown exponentially with Lydia now supplying nata de coco to large canned food and juice producers in the country, and exporting her products to South Korea as well. The business did not grow overnight, of course, and she didn’t do it alone. Lydia is one of the clients or beneficiaries of the microfinance group Kabalikat Para sa Maunlad na Buhay Inc.

Lydia is the grand-prize winner of the 2015 Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards (CMA), which recognizes and recently awarded outstanding microentrepreneurs. Funded by Citi Foundation, the program brings together multiple stakeholders in uplifting microfinance and enterprise development across the country: the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Citi Philippines and the Microfinance Council of the Philippines.

Since the awards were launched in 2002 as part of the bank’s centenary anniversary in the Philippines, Citi has awarded more than 100 microentrepreneurs. This annual search for the most accomplished and inspiring microentrepreneurs is vetted by a national selection committee made up of captains of industry, successful entrepreneurs, financial experts and members of academe. All CMA winners received cash prizes, entrepreneurship courses and one-one-one mentoring programs.

After suffering an illness brought on by exposure to pesticides, Marines Takingan (center) switched to organic farming and became a strong advocate of it. He receives the special award for community leadership from 2015 CMA national selection committee members Alfredo Antonio and Marixi Rufino-Prieto.

Six other awards were given at the CMA. Ester Shiela Vitto is a regional awardee for Luzon for her Bahag Footwear and Repair Shop. Ester and her husband started with P10,000 to make sandals using old tires. When sales dipped because the sandals were very durable and customers did not need to buy a new pair for years, they launched a new line of slippers.  They used to make only 10 pairs a day, now they produce 70 pairs and sell from 25 to 30 a day.

Regional awardee for Visayas is Jordan Inalisan. His Danny’s Special Pastillas and Delicacies started when his employer had to close down his business and he encouraged Danny to start his own. After Typhoon Yolanda, he started Danny’s eatery in the Cariaga public market and now offers up to 20 menu items to regular customers.

Regional awardee for Mindanao is Maternidad Salili, who fabricates coil springs that are used in machines and vehicles. She started the business with her husband in 1984, and his death in 2001 meant she would have bit of a tougher time in this male-dominated business. But she continued on with an initial loan from Kabalikat Para sa Maunlad na Buhay, Inc. She’s also introduced some innovations to her products, producing colored coils for some of the country’s biggest manufacturing companies.

Regional Awardee for Luzon Ester Shiela Vitto (center) receives her award from CMA national selection committee member and Ayala Corporation president Fernando Zobel de Ayala (fourth from left). She is joined by representatives from CARD MRI managing director Dr. Jaime Aristotle Alip, account officer Rosechelle An Noble, and CARD bank president Dolores Torres.

Citi also gave three special awards to Victoria Bantian and Laarni Ditablan for agri mico business, and Marines Takingan for community leadership. Victoria and her husband Rodrigo grow oyster mushroom and organic black and red rice; Laarni is a fish breeder and a knife fish trader; and marines owns an organic vegetable and flower farm.

Perhaps one of the secrets to having a successful business is finding the right partner, and each of the CMA winners found theirs — microfinance institutions around the country to help them secure loans and grow bigger and more profitable. That Citi helps to bring all the stakeholders together is a gift that just keeps on giving.