Inspiring stories from Filipino MSMEs

In my line of work – whether it’s in RFM, Go Negosyo, the MSMED Council, PSAC or ASEAN – I have observed that when things get tough, successful MSMEs innovate around constraints and continue to dream big for their businesses.

This year’s recipients of the Inspiring MSME Awards are a snapshot of that mindset. In today’s column, I want to highlight how these awardees innovated and overcame challenges, and possibly give a peek into what it will mean if they scale beyond their current footprint into regional markets.

Take Maria Avelaine Avellana of Tejeron Burgatory Coal Grilled Burger Station, for example. Her innovation wasn’t limited to grilling better food; it was also about turning food into opportunity. Starting during the pandemic, the business evolved into a multi-branch enterprise in Manila and Makati, anchored on employment and skills development for disadvantaged and out-of-school youth. Looking after customers and the community strengthened her business’s resilience.

Sahara Carmona of Chit’s Floral House shows another form of innovation: digital adaptation. Her family’s company has been around a long time and had its own loyal clientele, but she thought of expanding online anyway, not just through a website but also other marketplaces, and through social media. She used technology to keep the family’s craftsmanship relevant to modern purchasing behavior while preserving what made their business earn customer loyalty in the first place.

In many MSME stories, the turning point came when an entrepreneur fought against the odds. Meynardo E. Carpio Jr.’s Hinam-Is Delights began as a home-based baking business in 2008 and expanded through pasalubong stores and supermarkets. When COVID happened, he shifted more aggressively and upstream into manufacturing, upscaling his systems in the process. It transitioned into a corporation in 2025, and today it is FDA-approved and Halal-certified, with products available in more than 400 locations nationwide.

Clean Zone PH Inc., led by Ramonchito Alba “RC” Flores, demonstrates how operational excellence can become a competitive advantage. Founded in 2017, it grew from a cleaning company into broader essential services like disinfection, pest management and general maintenance for government agencies, private companies and residential clients. Their growth is tied to industrial-grade equipment and advanced cleaning solutions; they invested in capability, not just branding.

Even in architecture and interior design, where outcomes are judgment-heavy, Dannie Florendo Jr. of AD&D Architects Interior Inc. showed how to build scale through integration. The firm provides design-and-build services and covers residential, commercial, institutional and hospitality projects. Their growth comes from an end-to-end approach – planning, architecture, engineering, interior design and construction – allowing clients to move faster with fewer handoffs.

Tent King Corporation, under Jose Taqueo P. Espiritu, stood out in a capital- and operations-heavy category. The business grew from a P3,000 startup into a group of six companies serving the events industry. Their strategy emphasized customization, durability and technologically advanced tent solutions for both sale and rental. The ability to serve multiple client types reduces dependency on a single customer segment and cyclical demand.

Cultural and operational innovation made Libro Espresso Ventures Inc., led by Gemma A. Berania, stand out. The company created a café where coffee and reading go together and scaled through multiple branches and franchising. The business didn’t treat literacy programs as “extra” but as a core part of its operating philosophy, supported by scholarship initiatives and its Reading Awareness Program. In this way, it created not just buyers, but supporters.

Arnold Glenn Garcia of Chicharona Food Delicacies built an identity and capability that traveled. The food manufacturing company started in 2016 with multi-flavored pork chicharron. He then expanded it into spiced vinegars, pickled delicacies, bottled heritage dishes and mango jam. What’s notable here is the blend of manufacturing growth with social enterprise: livelihood opportunities for stay-at-home mothers, solo parents, out-of-school youth and aspiring entrepreneurs. This strengthens supply resilience and talent pipelines: two things that matter when scaling distribution.

In hospitality, Elma Tejada of Maru’s Food Lounge and Beachfront Rooms turned a backyard concept into a full hospitality destination in Occidental Mindoro. The business added rooms, function halls, swimming pools, cabanas and event venues, and then adapted during COVID-19 by launching online delivery. Elma also took it as an opportunity to learn and joined the KMME program, which Go Negosyo runs in cooperation with the DTI.

Finally, at the intersection of MSME and technology, Francis Aldrine A. Uy of USHER Technologies Inc. highlights commercialization as the real challenge for many innovation-focused firms. The company developed the USHER System in collaboration with Mapúa University, DOST and PCIEERD, with a focus on real-time structural health monitoring and resilience. Scaling here depends less on “marketing a product” and more on validating adoption with government and institutional buyers, meeting compliance needs and expanding deployment partnerships.

All of the above are examples of why MSMEs continue to be mighty engines of growth. But what would allow these enterprises to grow from strong domestic operators into regional players?

I think it is a question that should continually weigh on the minds of both the government and the private sector. MSMEs like these need fertile soil to thrive. They need policy that reduces friction and rewards scale, and predictable rules that allow them to plan instead of worrying about unforeseen hurdles. They need access to the three M’s: Money, Markets and Mentorship. MSMEs need to connect to things like procurement opportunities, trade missions, franchise support structures and adoption pilots (especially for technology and service sectors). They need access to capital that matches their realities and recognizes the cashflow cycles of MSMEs. They need mentoring in practical execution skills like planning, operations, pricing discipline, HR systems, quality control and customer retention strategies. This is how you help scale the micro to small, the small to medium and the medium to large.

These Inspiring MSME awardees show what Filipino entrepreneurship looks like, and what is possible if we help them scale. What they need now is a fertile environment that will let them grow. If we get that right, they’ll become regional success cases.