Alicia Alonzo
People-Powered Markets: Business to Empower the Poor
Twenty-five years ago, Deogracias “Sonny” Vistan took leave from work to join two million Filipinos in EDSA. It was an act of spontaneity and idealism that the veteran banker was not supposed to do. He then worked for a multinational bank that “preferred to take an apolitical position in its host country.” The trouble-free choice was for him to look the other way, to merely avoid the threats and hurdles of standing against a dictator. But the banker carried forward, casting his lot in an alliance of civilians, armed only with prayer and a conviction that “everybody wanted to join the journey into a new hope.”
Fast forward to the “People-Powered Markets” (PPM) exhibit, a gathering of businessmen, microentrepreneurs, and NGO workers to celebrate the 25th People Power Anniversary and the work of the private sector in developing microenterprise as an instrument for poverty alleviation. As Vistan readies to introduce President Benigno Aquino III, the keynote speaker in the event, it would seem as if the conviction and hope continues to be heartfelt in the former Land Bank president. The dwindling of the crowds in EDSA, the seeming failure of the first People Power has not worn off his resolve to bring about a better tomorrow for the country. This time he and other businessmen like Philippine Long Distance Company chair Manny V. Pangilinan, Philippine Investment Management, Inc. president and chief executive officer Ramon del Rosario, and renowned accountant-philanthropist Washington Sycip have cast their lots in a new revolution—the People Power to end poverty through microfinance and microenterprise development.
Value chains that work for the people
In 1986, it was People Power icon and former president Corazon C. Aquino who united Filipinos to restore democracy. More than two decades later, the businessmen were again following her “moving spirit” to gather and strive to empower others with microenterprise. PPM shows the unity of the business leaders with various entities—consolidators, universities, NGOs, and microfinance institutions–as “value chains that work for the people.”
A value chain is a physical representation of the various processes that are involved in producing goods. There is a value chain for instance between Jollibee Foods Corporations (JFC) and farmers from Nueva Ecija and Bukidnon. Jollibee partners with the farmers for its requirement of fresh ingredients like onions and bell peppers. However, the two would not have been able to transact without the collaboration of The Catholic Relief Service Philippines (CRS), which promotes market-driven strategies to facilitate farmers’ participation in the mainstream market, the National Livelihood Development Corporation (NLDC), a government corporation that provides for the credit needs of farmers, and the Alalay sa Kaunlaran, Inc. (ASKI), a microfinance institution that directly delivers the funds to the farmers cooperative. The chain hence also includes CRS, NLDC, and ASKI, aside from Jollibee and the farmers.
JFC Foundation executive director Ma. Gisela Tiongson encourages institutions like CRS and other farmer cooperatives to partner and supply vegetables to Jollibee. “If you have the volumes and quality our company needs, why not. You can supply us with the high value vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli, and others,” she said.
Another model for encouraging microentreprise is the Petron Bulilit Station, an easy-to-build gasoline station that can start with 2-3 product pumps but can be easily expanded as demand increases. The endeavor helps create new business opportunities for microentrepreneurs who are looking for viable investments. “This is also in line with our efforts to encourage more Filipino entrepreneurs, especially those in far-flung areas, by offering them the opportunity to be a Petron service station dealer,” said Petron Chairman and CEO Ramon S. Ang.
Rapa Lopa, Tita Cory’s favorite nephew and president of the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation, a partner in organizing PPM, said: “These are not just value chains but models of People Power. In a sense that is what we are celebrating and what we want to bring about more–People Power that has transcended the political and that makes a direct impact in the lives of people.”
Labeled by Lopa as a “reverse trade fair”, the exhibit is ground-breaking in the sense that it allows microentrepreneurs to learn of ways of doing business with established companies by being part of their value chain. This is an inversion of the traditional trade fair wherein microentrepreneurs market their goods to the companies and to consumers.
“On the other hand, businessmen can learn from these models and say ‘I want to use this model to meet my requirements and also help out the people in my community. Or a NGO could say ‘I want to be part of this value chain and organize people into a cooperative so they can meet the delivery requirements of a company’,” said Dan Songco, president and chief executive officer of the PinoyME Foundation.
“We aim to demonstrate different ways in which people and private companies can use the market to address social problems in the country, while expanding the marketplace and improving bottom lines, using the value chain approach.” Songco added.
Aside from PinoyME and NCAF, the key organizers are the Philippine Business for Social Progress and the Directories Philippines Corporation (DPC Yellow Pages). The other sponsors are San Miguel Corporation, Ayala Corporation, Petron, Planters Development Bank, PLDT, Smart, The Department of Agriculture, Veepo Global Resources, Megaworld, Citibank, Clean Engines, Jollibee Foundation, and Splash Corporation.
Social enterprise
A value chain is a physical representation of the various processes that are involved in producing goods. The Manok Mabuhay! Project is an excellent value chain model that shows a farmers association, partnering with the Sikap Bidani, a microfinance institution, for credit; LGUs for legal support; and the Punla sa Tao Foundation and Bounty Fresh Chicken to be able to sell their products in the mainstream market.
Gifts and Graces is a nonprofit organization that provides artisans and marginalized groups with product development, market access, and technical support on enterprise management to improve their livelihood programs. Some popular Gifts and Graces products are hand-painted newspaper bags, agate bag charms, and coffee sleeves made by enterprising Filipinos in destitute communities.
Love Gregorie Perez, Gift and Graces executive director, explains: “In the course of my work at Gifts and Graces I have met many inspiring men and women from different walks of life, all striving to make this world a better place. Among the people I’ve met are women producers who are leaders in their communities, a former street child who made candles so well he was hired to run the livelihood program, former prison inmates who are determined not to let their past dictate their future.”
Perez added: “My vision for Gifts and Graces is for it to reach out to many disadvantaged and marginalized groups all over the country and provide them with product development, capacity building, and market access to help them earn additional income.”
ECHOstore meanwhile is the first concept store advocating a sustainable lifestyle in the country. The Environment and Community Hope Organization Store not only offers excellent, Filipino-made products to consumers who seek to enjoy sustainable lifestyles; it also provides marginalized communities with outlets and helps them with product design.
“Echostore has a very, very interesting array of products with some of the most unique or interesting history of how these products were made. I recall some of them being made by prisoners, families of prisoners. Generally these products, I can think of two dimensions: One is that these products are made by idle people, people that have absolutely no employment, no livelihood, people that just spends their time without any productive element because there is no opportunity whether they are young children of the families or housewives that don’t have any way of generating income,” said Vistan. “Another [dimension] is there’s been a very creative way of recycling some of the products that you would otherwise see thrown away. So there is a good environmental element.”
The Manok Mabuhay! Project, on the other hand, alleviates poverty in agricultural areas by providing farmers with sustainable livelihoods through backyard contract broiler production. In 20 municipalities in the products of Laguna and Cavite, Manok Mabuhay! has organized, trained, and helps 100 backyard farmers manage poultry farms with about 1,000 birds each. The project is a highly successful value chain model that shows the unity of NGOs, microfinance institutions, local government units (LGUs), and corporations. In this case, a farmers association has partnered with the Sikap Bidani, a microfinance institution, for credit; LGUs for legal support, and the Punla sa Tao Foundation and Bounty Fresh Chicken to be able to sell their products in the mainstream market.
Also an innovative social enterprise is The Hapinoy Store Program, which provides services such as cheaper access to commodities, personal growth and business training, and support to sari-sari store owners. All of Hapinoy’s community stores are owned by women microentrepreneurs who are fondly and respectfully called “nanays” or mothers of the productive program.
Mark Ruiz, managing director of MicroVentures, Inc., which implements the Hapinoy Program said: “The Hapinoy model works best outside the urban centers. We’re essentially trying to reach the rural areas that have limited access to the right goods and services. So, for example, in Mindoro areas where there are no electricity, we’ve started to sell solar lamps; we’ve also ventured into over-the-counter medicine because it’s not widely distributed deep in barangays (as opposed to cigarettes and alcohol); in Bicol we’ve ventured into Mosquito bednets. In certain Barangays we’ve activated WIreless Money Transfer so that there’s a mini-remittance center there when there’s no bank.”
Tech-savvy solutions to poverty
PPM also recognizes the significant contributions of technological advances to providing poverty-stricken Filipinos with access to basic resources and opportunities to strive for and lead prosperous lives. Hybrid Social Solutions is a social distribution company that provides affordable and tech-savvy solutions to the poverty-related ills confronted by needy communities. Some of its notable products are solar-powered home appliances such as lamps, mobile phone chargers, and power boxes. This year Hybrid Solutions will release valuable commodities like water purifiers, self-adjustable eyeglasses, and cooking stoves. Hybrid Solutions also provides training and technical assistance to NGO workers, microfinance institutions, rural cooperatives to broaden its impact in fight against poverty.
Meanwhile the partnerships forged in the exhibit will be cultivated through an electronic platform provided by DPC Yellow Pages. The site will be accessible to all value chain stakeholders and, over the longer term, is envisioned to be a virtual marketplace where big companies, small producers, consolidators, and other service providers can make inquiries, exchange information, forge partnerships, or even make transactions.
Bong Bautista, president of DPC, explains his support: “People Power is predicated on an implicit faith in the innate patriotism of the Filipinos, and this continuation of the revolution is an extension of that faith.”
A Revolution to Transform the Market
The value chain exhibits were complimented with forums to empower microentrepreneurs and the public with information and training. The forums delved on topics such as social enterprises, linking farmers to the market, opportunities to partner with the country’s leading companies, and product development clinics.
Songco remarks: “These are exciting times for micro-enterprise. We have invited the President to address all our stakeholders, because we feel that the trajectory of ‘People-Powered Markets’ is aligned with his government’ s vision for a more inclusive economy.”
Moreover, exhibitors like Perez of Gift’s and Graces count meeting President Aquino at PPM as one of the “most memorable highlights of our work.” She adds: “Joining PPM was good for Gifts and Graces because we were able to show our value chain and how producers and corporations can engage in it. The exhibit, as well as the forum on Social Entrepreneurship, was an excellent platform to share our advocacy. Thanks to PinoyME, Gifts and Graces was also interviewed in Shop Talk on ANC. Overall the wider exposure will help raise the profile of Gifts and Graces and will help connect us with more producers and more clients.”
A very valuable attainment of PPM was President Aquino’s enthusiastic response to the value chain models. The president clearly showed he shared the belief of Vistan, Songco, Perez, and the other PPM exhibitors and participants that People Power can be utilized to transform the market so that it could provide struggling Filipinos with livelihood opportunities. He said in his keynote speech at PPM opening: “Many of us here have backgrounds in Economics, so I should tell you: People Power is one of our country’s biggest competitive advantages. As Filipinos, we value this yearly opportunity to reignite our commitment to unity. We have this one event to look back to so that we can be reminded of our common dream—a Philippines that fulfills its great potential, a Philippines that can bring about a better quality of life for its citizens. And thus, we must keep utilizing this People Power to its fullest extent.”
Aquino then extolled PPM “as an effort by different stakeholders to give new meaning to people power—one that makes poverty alleviation a long-term social project. We must change the rules of the marketplace so that we can give the poor and the marginalized opportunities to participate in an even playing field. We must bring the disadvantaged sectors of our society into the mainstream of our economy if we want to restore our national pride and push our nation toward progress.”
Time can only tell if PPM and its new vision of People Power can indeed bring about a direct impact in people’s lives. However, it is a source of inspiration to see Filipinos from different sectors standing united again for the country’s future. Some writers easily dismiss the first People Power as a failed revolution; some politicians believe that they could have done better with their own revolutions, their own politics. However, the conflict and disunity of our recent times have shown how powerless we all are when on our own. We can only start to bring about shared progress and prosperity for all if, like the PPM exhibitors, we listen to what others say, respect other ideas, and most of all work as one nation. Until we make the decision to stride with other Filipinos into another EDSA, another People Power, no revolution—whether to transform government or the marketplace—can truly succeed.
