Housewives Turned Entrepreneurs

This post is yet another example of a World Vision microfinance success story. Read about this group of bold women from the Philippines who did big things with small loans!

Written and Photographed by Karen Rivera

A group of mothers in Merida, Leyte, a province in the Visayas region of the Philippines broke away from their traditional roles at home and transformed themselves into successful businesswomen. With a loan from NORWELDEPAI, a people’s organization assisted by World Vision, they now juggle their time running a business and filling in their domestic chores.

Nanette, 39, sold snacks at her children’s school before she and four other mothers joined the ranks of NORWELDEPAI’s micro-enterprise groups. While she had been quite content to stay at home, doing the laundry and generally making sure her household is fed and looked after, she needed to supplement her husband’s earnings as a welder. With her three children, her sister and her three children living with them, their combined earnings were quickly eaten away by the family’s daily expenses.

“Our life has been a daily struggle. We barely got by because my husband’s income was irregular and what I get from selling food was barely enough to meet the needs of the children,” says Nanette. So in 2007, Nanette decided to take matters into her own hands with a P100,000 (US$2500) loan from the project to start a grocery business along with four other women.

The micro-enterprise loans offered by World Vision through NORWELDEPAI carry a 12% annual interest, 4% of which forms part of the savings and investment of the borrower which are given back to them after the full payment of their loans. This loan facility encourages sponsored families to venture into income generating projects that would boost their income. Amid protests from their husbands who doubted their ability to repay, they went ahead and cheered each other on, saying, “We can do this!”

With sheer determination, discipline and a lot of prayers, they certainly did. In a year, their loan was paid in full and business continues to grow. They earn as much as P8,000 (US$200) on market days and an average of P2,000 (US$50) on regular days. Two members of the group even decided to set up further businesses on their own after getting their share of the profits.

“We initially applied for a three-year repayment but we decided among ourselves to pay up within a year. We made sure that everyday we set aside a portion of our income to meet the monthly payment of P11,120 (US$278),” says Nanette. “Paying up on time is our way of giving back to World Vision for the trust it has given us. It would have been impossible for us, ordinary housewives, to come up with such an amount. Banks generally require collateral, and unscrupulous moneylenders would have tied us down with exorbitant interest,“ she adds.

Proving their husbands wrong is just part of these women’s stories. By building their business skills, they discovered their capacity to do more than just run a household. “We have learned a lot about running a business; from tracking inventory, keeping the books and maintaining good relationship with our customers. We’ve also learned to manage our time between family and the store,” says Epe, 32, Nanette’s sister and the purchaser of the group.

For Rosita, 44, a mother of four, it was a lesson on discipline. “All our earnings were plowed back to the business. It was only after we fully paid the loan that we decided to divide among ourselves a portion of our profit. We also patronise our own store,” says Rosita, one of the members of the group.

The group’s success has caught on with other women in the community. Small stores have now sprouted around the community. But beyond their success, Nanette says she enjoys belonging to a group and supporting her sister and friends through both business and personal hardship. Smiling, she comments, “Everything in my life is going well because of our business. In time we will be able to save enough to sustain the college education of our children. None of us completed college. This store might just be the way to see our children earn their degree and live better lives.”

With financial resources on their hands, these women not only gained financial independence but the confidence to dream big for their families.