Opportunities as vast as the sea

By JEFFREY C. TANDINGAN
July 20, 2022

SAN PABLO CITY – Entrepreneurship is one of the backbones of the Philippines economy. It also contributes significantly to reducing the number of people living under the poverty line. In fact, this is what some see as the solution to get out of poverty. When it comes to business, it is undeniable that most Filipinos are very strategic and creative, they are not only content with one but as much as their capacity and physical body can, they will always grab the opportunity to grow and to reach success.

Glenda Bayon-on from Milagros, Masbate manages four different enterprises; this makes her one of the successful entrepreneurs in her city. Her businesses include prawn hatchery, dried fish, seafood supplier, and piggery. Her family also owns a bunch of laya, a type of small boat used to catch fish. Glenda’s business not only benefits her family but also to her community since she employs more than 15 people to take care of her business.

When asked how their successful business began, like some entrepreneurs, they also started with nothing. Her husband was then a technician at a prawn hatchery. As a result, her husband learned how to raise shrimp properly. Since the couple were already in the blood of the business, they decided to find people who will believe and help them start their preferred livelihood. Glenda fully supported her husband, and not long after, in 2006 they met CARD Bank, Inc., a microfinance-oriented rural bank that provides a wide range of financial and non-financial products and services intended to fit clients’ businesses and family needs.

With their initial loan of P5,000, the couple began their prawn hatchery; slowly, they grew their small earnings until they bought their own laya and this is what they used to increase their income. Their seafood harvests are brought straight to Navotas City in Manila while some are turned into dried products which are also delivered to Manila and nearby provinces.

Also, with the help of CARD Bank, Inc., Glenda was able to send their three children to school. Her eldest son is now a civil engineering graduate, while her second is in college and her youngest is a junior high school student. She will always be grateful to the outcome of their effort and how brave they were when they risked the small capital that CARD Bank Inc. lent to them.

Overtime, the couple also thought of adding more to their livelihood, especially when they figured out they had the capacity to help their community. From a single laya and small hatchery, they now have 20 laya and extensive piggery where they breed 28 fattening and raising 180 piglets.

To continue to meet the needs of their businesses, the growing number of laborers, and despite their success, they continued to avail loans from CARD Bank, Inc. Currently, Glenda has a loan of PhP200,000 and she makes sure that it is used exactly for the maintenance of their businesses and aids all the people who are working behind and helps them to run their business. Helping them particularly in this era where the post-pandemic is still affecting the lives of many Filipinos is one of Glenda’s inspirations to strive hard in their businesses.