Inside GCash: 'G Nation' sparks innovations to make financial inclusion a reality for all
MANILA, Philippines — The late tech visionary Steve Jobs once said, "You've got to find what you love. The only way to do great work is to love what you do."
Young people entering the workforce have made this their mantra. While they hope to love their professional careers, they also ought to find passions and advocacies they care about.
Fortunately, there are workplaces like GCash where young Filipinos can thrive in their career and grow holistically. Philstar.com was able to meet—albeit online—three young fintech talents from the G Nation. Here's how they find purpose in their work.
Geena Alindato: Ambag para sa bayan
Geena Alindato, 27, once dreamt of becoming the president of the Philippines, coming from her desire to contribute to nation-building after completing her education in elementary until college in a public school with the help of a scholarship.
While this dream didn't materialize (yet), Alindato used to work as a product head for GCredit and finds fulfillment that she contributed in making financial services accessible to those who are kinakapos sa budget.
"'Yung GCredit, when we designed it, we made sure it would address pain points in borrowing money," Alindato said, referring to big interest rates from informal lenders,document-heavy applications from traditional lenders, and also the “hiya” when borrowing from friends and family.
Asked what she loves most in her work—admittedly apart from their cool office in Bonifacio Global City—Alindato answered working with her peers and mentors at GCash.
"Imagine nung bata ako iniisip ko na 'Ah ito yung gusto kong gawin for the Philippines.' Then now I've been working with people who actually have the same dream. So, actually mas naging enjoyable yun for me," Alindato said.
"Personally, yung pangarap ko sa Pilipinas is yung dumami pa yung magkaroon ng access to financial services -loans, savings, investments and insurance, and maramdaman ng mga tao na empowered sila, na in-control sila kahit ano man yung mangyari kasi meron silang choices na convenient, na abot kaya," she shared. "Sobrang fulfilled kasi nag align yung work ko with these personal values."
Aeriel Dela Paz: Building what Filipinos deserve
Fresh out of college, Aeriel Dela Paz, 23, joined the team in 2019. During her six-month stay in Europe for an exchange program, she saw several financial services that got her thinking about why we can't have them in the Philippines.
"We, Filipinos, obviously deserve so much better, and I wanted to have a hand in that and actively take part in developing the Philippines into something greater. So even if I didn't know anything about fintech—it was GCash's purpose that brought me in," Dela Paz recounted.
Dela Paz was only a year in the company when GCash took a chance on her to build something like GCash Pera Outlet—a product that enables unbanked and sari-sari store owners to grow their business through cash in, cash out, bills payments and money transfers.
"This product is a bit personal for me because I grew up with my lola starting her own sari-sari store and so I knew what managing it looked like—tiring. But I also knew that even if the market landscape is still very traditional, we can help these small businesses earn more through the digital services that GCash can offer," she said.
For Dela Paz, knowing that she's positively impacting sari-sari store owners, just like her grandmother years ago, energizes her to keep pushing forward in her professional career.
Lloyd Calvario: On a mission beyond KPIs
In the middle of a pandemic, Lloyd Calvario, 24, joined the GCash team as the GSave product owner. He does end-to-end product management for GSave with his amazing squad—from ideation, requirements-gathering, down to launch.
"The GSave Squad knows that GSave's mission is beyond our KPIs. As of today, we have more than 5.5 million Filipinos who have entrusted their money through us, but we know that we can do more and we can help more Filipinos achieve financial freedom; hence our unofficial tagline, ‘Savings for everyJuan'," Calvario said.
Financial literacy and inclusion are also his mission—the very reason he joined Gcash in the middle of the pandemic. He made do even with limited access outside, thereby realizing the need to embrace digitization, even for saving.
GSave allows its users to open a savings account at the comfort of their home for free, instead of having to go to the banks.
As the product owner, Calvario with the help of his team, makes sure that everything they do continuously improves their services by listening to the voice of their customers.
"It's always been my personal mission to help the Filipinos in terms of financial inclusion through financial literacy. I think I'm in the best position now to contribute and be part of shaping the financial landscape of the Philippines," Calvario shared.
G Nation for the Nation
More than just a typical fintech workplace, GCash has embraced being a company that celebrates and supports the social advocacies, interests and even the small businesses of their talents.
"I think that's what GCash does. Even though you're young, it's not a barrier. The company will help you grow and give you challenges and projects that they know are important to the business and can make it big. They believe and push us youthful employees to grow, to recognize or actualize the same potential that the business has,” Dela Paz shared.
Indeed, in the past six years, GCash has helped shape the nation by becoming a healthy home for young talents who seek to pursue their passion and purpose even within the corporate world.
It will continue to do so until the promise of financial inclusion is realized in the Philippines.
"I would encourage other partners to join our team, I would tell them that if you really want to make an impactful change that will reach millions of Filipinos, this company is for you," Calvario ended.
Be part of G Nation, For the Nation. Visit https://bit.ly/JoinGNation to learn more.
