FROM THE MARGINS
Last week, I wrote about how small businesses serve as incubators for innovation and creativity, propelled by entrepreneurial Millennials and Gen-Zs who are changing our business landscape. I shared the story of 27-year-old Ciriaco Villagonzalo Jr. from Davao, who successfully put up a motorcycle repair shop while finishing his college studies. How he applied the learnings from his Entrepreneurship course into his small business is truly inspiring.
Let me share more stories of young entrepreneurs whose struggles – and successes – remind us to never underestimate the power of dreams and the resilience of the human spirit.
Genelyn Garcia
Poverty forced Genelyn Garcia to work in her teens. Now 29 years old, Gene recalls asking her principal to allow her to work at the school canteen so she can finish high school. After graduation, she approached local politicians to ask for scholarships so she can enroll in college. Unfortunately, she was forced to drop out in 2016 to help support her family. She worked as a factory worker and tricycle driver. She also revived their sari-sari store with the aid of a loan that her mother borrowed from a microfinance institution. She even peddled camote and banana cue.
Gene’s hard work paid off. She was able to repay their loan, even buy a motorcycle, and a tricycle. With a steady source of income, she returned to school, taking up B.S. Entrepreneurship in an MFI-affiliated school in Laguna. She just graduated last month.
“It’s a wonderful school. Enrolment was easy, and I was not forced to wear the traditional uniform,” shares Gene. “I was a scholar and a working student. I sold ukay-ukay online, worked at Chooks-to-Go, and later, at a milk tea shop. In my third year of college, we were required to prepare a business plan and participate in a week-long bazaar. This was how my business, Primo Coffee Shop, started.”
Gene borrowed ₱5,000 from an MFI and her group mates contributed funds for a coffee booth, which was a hit in the school bazaar. This inspired Gene to venture on her own, setting up coffee kiosks during school events. She also shared a small space in a nearby store. Later, she earned enough to put up a coffee shop inside the campus. She now employs a few employees and earns a net income of about ₱30,000 a month.
“Like my school, I also want to give back to the community,” shares Gene. “I am happy that I am now able to provide employment to other young people.”
Lovely Genita
Lovely Genita is a 25-year-old entrepreneur from Tagum City. Raised by farmers, Lovely grew up knowing the value of money. “I work hard, and I always save because I know how it feels to have nothing,” she says.
She once dreamt of taking up Engineering in a big university. Knowing that this is beyond their means, she instead took up B.S. Entrepreneurship with specialization in Microfinance in a local college. She was a full scholar, but to help her family, she also worked at the school.
“At first, I was embarrassed to be seen cleaning the facilities,” shares Lovely. “But I appreciated all the support that my school gave me – scholarship, good education, employment as a student assistant, and later, business opportunities.”
Lovely especially liked her school’s student trainee program, as it allowed them to earn and apply their learnings in a work environment. She appreciated learning about research, business planning and financial management.
“Entrepreneurship may not have been my first choice,” says Lovely, “but this course taught me vital skills.” She likes having the option of finding employment or starting her own business.
Lovely’s first enterprise was buy-and-sell of rice. She earned a lot from this business, but unfortunately, was taken advantage of by her business partner. She decided to start anew, applying to be a concessionaire in her old school’s canteen. She augmented her personal savings with an ₱18,000 loan from a cooperative to start this business.
“It was tough at first,” says Lovely. I used to do everything, so I slept near midnight and woke up at dawn.” Recognizing that the demands of her growing business are compromising her health, she began hiring workers. This improved her operations.
Lovely has already paid her initial loan and was able to borrow more capital for her business. She has even saved enough to plan on opening another store in a new location. She gives free meals to needy students and shares her blessings in different ways, like taking care of her employees.
For Lovely, the key to her success is hard work and determination. She shares: “When I was starting, many said I was taking so much risk and my business would fail. It is good that I did not listen to them.”
* * *
“The youth need to be enabled to become job generators from (merely) job-seekers.” - A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
(Dr. Jaime Aristotle B. Alip is a poverty eradication advocate. He is the founder of the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development Mutually-Reinforcing Institutions (CARD MRI).)