The search is on for the 12th Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards

MANILA, Philippines - Who was it that said, “Great achievement requires great perseverance”?

Citi Philippines CEO Batara Sianturi shares the same idea. Asked what he thought was a common trait among the winners of the Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards (CMA), an annual nationwide search for outstanding microentrepreneurs in the Philippines, he replied, “I think the word is ‘perseverance.’ They persevere even under very hard circumstances.”

He saw this demonstrated on a recent visit to Yolanda victims in Leyte, where one of the past winners was affected.

Launched in 2002 as part of the celebrations for Citi’s 100th year of operations in the Philippines and Asia, the award-winning program pursues its objective of increasing awareness for microfinance and providing incentives to microentrepreneurs in the country, in partnership with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Microfinance Council of the Philippines Inc. (MCPI).

“It is always a joy to witness so many inspiring success stories of Filipino microentrepreneurs,” remarked Amando

Tetangco Jr., governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and co-chair of the National Selection Committee (composed of distinguished captains of industry, successful entrepreneurs, financial experts and the academe). “They continue to surprise us with their creativity, discipline and humility, striving to achieve their goals in the face of many challenges. Through our winners, we are reassured again and again that microfinance is a viable option for entrepreneurial Pinoys.”

This year’s search for outstanding Filipino microentrepreneurs was launched in simple ceremonies at the Executive Business Center of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), marking the 12th year of the Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards (CMA). Three of the winners in 2013 shared their experiences.

Gudilla C. Argabio, a sugarcane laborer based in the scenic town of Calatrava in Negros Occidental, a three-hour drive north of Bacolod City, together with her husband, was awarded a three-hectare farm lot in 1999 by the Department of Agrarian Reform. This gave her the opportunity to establish her own sugarcane farm. With micro financing, she bought farm production input, secondhand trucks and smaller vehicles for use in their sugarcane farming as well as in their truck leasing and general merchandise businesses.

With the support of her husband and children, her business has grown, now with total assets of P2.87 million, which includes a tractor, three 10-wheeler trucks and a number of second hand cars. They are also able to provide livelihood for about 10 regular workers and extra income for some 50 workers during harvest time.

Marylyn C. Cleto, a former overseas worker, returned to the country in 2004 with meager savings. With a loan from the Social Security System, she put up a sari-sari store in the mountain town of Bagulin in La Union, where she lives. Together with her husband, they now run four successful small businesses: a mini-grocery, computer services shop, a G-cash remit center, and a soft broom manufacturing business using tiger grass, which is abundant in their area.

In 2010, after a typhoon devastated her community, Marylyn secured a loan from Tulay Sa Pag-unlad, Inc. (TSPI), which she used to restock her mini-grocery, and has since been a valued client of the microfinance institution.

Winning in the Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards made her more aware of her obligation to her community, to generate more jobs and employment, she shared. “We should never lose the desire to help others.”

For Regina E Paller, typhoon Frank in 2008 proved to be a blessing in disguise. While almost all of the commercial areas in Passi City in Iloilo were flooded, her talabahan, a roadside eatery that served oysters, was spared since it stood on higher ground. Largely unknown to travelers since it opened in 2006, it now had more than its share of hungry customers. With her business picking up, Regina accepted an offer for a loan by a Valiant Bank account officer who had eaten at the diner and seen its potential. “From a three-table rented space that could hardly consume half a sack of talaba, the eatery has expanded to accommodate 80 people and uses up to 12 sacks of talaba a day,” she relates.  

In 2012, the Paller couple invested part of their earnings in farmland inherited from their parents. They engaged in rice, corn and sugarcane farming, employing about 20 people during harvest time. Their talabahan continues to thrive and provides work for at least seven people. The Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards gave her the opportunity to meet other winners, from whom she also learned how to further grow their business, Regina shared.

Besides the cash prize, CMA winners receive entrepreneurship training at the Citi Microenterprise Development Center. They are given a laptop and basic computer training. “They have grown their business, now we give them a helping hand on how to sustain it,” Sianturi remarked. They gain membership to the CMA alumni network to build their market connections. All awardees also receive one-year life and health insurance coverage to protect them from events that may adversely affect their business.

Over the past decade, CMA has recognized 93 outstanding Filipino entrepreneurs. This year’s search will add seven more for a total of 100. The program will recognize one Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards National Winner and three regional awardees, one each from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Three special awards will be given: a Special Award for Innovation; a Special Award for Agri Micro-business; and a Special Award for Community Leadership, which will be given for the first time this year.

CMA was adopted as a global program by Citi and introduced to 32 other countries. In 2015, it will mark its first decade as a global program. Sianturi also announced that the Philippine CMA program was recognized as a regional winner by the Asia Responsible Entrepreneurship Awards in ceremonies held in Singapore. “The organizers have commended the CMA with a Social Empowerment Award,” Sianturi shared. “This most welcome news comes on the heels of the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Business Civic Leadership Center recognizing the CMA for Best Economic Empowerment Program back in November 2013. We should also not forget the commitment and support from government.”

Mandated by the General Banking Act to recognize microfinance as a legitimate banking activity, and committed to the cause of improving the quality of life for Filipinos, the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) declared microfinance as “its flagship program for poverty alleviation and has since played a key role in the development of sustainable microfinance in the country.”

“Our award-winning public-private civic partnership has become a tangible recognition of the good work many microfinance practitioners do to promote inclusive growth,” Sianturi continued. “You can be assured of Citi’s strong support and tireless efforts to promote economic progress to strengthen low-income families and communities around the country and in the rest of the world.”