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Empowering Women in the Philippines

through Social Enterprises

By: John Frederick A. Lauron

Submitted to: Dr. Aleli B. Bawagan and Dr. Amaryllis T. Torres

SD-301 Social Development: History and Perspectives

College of Social Work and Community Development University of the Philippines-Diliman

October 15, 2013

Abstract

One of the most popular initiatives or development programs that have been employed to promote women empowerment is through social enterprises which originated from Yunus’ assertion that credit as basic human rights. Yunus microfinance model to empower women were enhanced and later on transformed into the so-called social business which is a specific kind of social enterprise.

This paper makes use of Dacanay’s SEPPS framework or social enterprises with the

poor as primary stakeholders, Longwe’s women empowerment framework and CARE International framework as the author’s bases in analyzing the three social enterprises in the Philippines: ECHOstore, Rags2Riches, and Hapinoy.

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I. Introduction

Women constitute 70% of the 1.3 billion people who live in absolute poverty

worldwide (CARE, 2005). CARE, an international organization working on women

empowerment claims that for women, poverty does not only mean scarcity. It also

means rights denied, opportunities curtailed and voices silenced. The following data

were based from an article or a report released by the said organization:

1. “Women work two-thirds of the world’s working hours, according to the United

Nations Millennium Campaign to halve world poverty by the year 2015.

2. Women earn only 10 percent of the world’s income. Where women work for money,

they may be limited to a set of jobs deemed suitable for women – invariably low-

pay, low-status positions.

3. Women own less than 1 percent of the world’s property. Where laws or customs

prevent women from owning land or other productive assets, from getting loans or

credit, or from having the right to inheritance or to own their home, they have no

assets to leverage for economic stability and cannot invest in their own or their

children’s futures.

4. Women make up two-thirds of the estimated 876 million adults worldwide who

cannot read or write; and girls make up 60 percent of the 77 million children not

attending primary school.” (CARE, 2005)

These are just some of the empirical data that would support Diana Pearce’s

"feminization of poverty". Indeed, women are marginalized in the existing neoliberal-

capitalist development model.

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Development experts such as Sen, Ul Haq, Nussbaum, and Elson recognize

women as key players in development. Yet, they are marginalized. The reason for the

marginalization of women depends on the culture and practices of the community they

belong. In the Philippines, the issue on gender equity and/or equality is not very much

of great concern as compared to other countries. Although there are still a number of

gender-related issues, the country performs fairly high and ranked ninth (9th)

worldwide in the 2010 Gender Gap Report. The country is fairly gender sensitive but

the main challenge of the government, NGOs and CSOs is how to provide opportunities

for more women to be empowered to lead the kind of lives they have reason to value

through job generation, livelihood and just compensation.

The empowerment of women is one of the central issues in the process of

development of many developing countries in the world. Historically, women in

Bangladesh where microfinance and social business were conceptualized by Muhammad

Yunus, were deprived socially and economically compared to men (MOWCA., 2008).

Disparities between men and women prevails in terms of education, health, employment

and income opportunities, control over assets, personal security and participation in the

political process that made women disempowered, which limits the country’s ability to

achieve its full potential (National Women Development Policy, 2008). It is well established

that women have less access than men to investments in skills, knowledge and lifelong

learning. The empowerment of women is an essential prerequisite for the exclusion of

world poverty and the upholding of human rights (DFID., 2000). It is important to note that

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women empowerment through microfinance started when Yunus saw the potential of

women to be self-reliant, entrepreneurial, creative, diligent, and responsible. Through

small loans, many women were moved out of poverty. He outlined his experience in

microfinance in a book entitled, Banker to the Poor. While his efforts were recognized

when he and his bank received the Noble Peace Prize in 2006, he also has critics about his

initiatives.

Many development experts have claimed that microfinance can be a tool for poverty

alleviation, especially to women. Although it’s still a continuing debate of whether

microfinance itself is a tool for poverty alleviation or is it just part of a development

package to alleviate poverty, one cannot question of the positive impact of access to small

loans to women, as a means to get out of poverty and to start a self-sustaining livelihood or

small business. As the author made a review of existing literature, it appears that a

significant number of research have been done on the area of microfinance as a poverty

alleviation tool and its role on women empowerment.

This paper aims to discuss the framework of women empowerment and how it can

be applied in existing social enterprises in the Philippines. The cases of ‘Rags2Riches’,

‘ECHOstore’ and ‘Hapinoy’ and how these social enterprises helped in empowering women

will be discussed in this term paper.

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II. From Microfinance to Social Business/Social Entrepreneurship

The concept of microfinance was popularized when Muhammad Yunus, an

economics professor at the University of Chittagong, Bangladesh, after observing that

enterprising women did not have access to finance their small entrepreneurial activities

decided to lend $27 to a group of poor women. Before 1974, most women in Bangladesh

were marginalized and excluded due to very high interest from loan sharks. This

experience of Yunus led him to put up Grameen Bank in 1976 which provides small loans

without collateral to those who are not credit worthy, the poor (Yunus, 2003). Most of the

borrowers were women and it was observed that there was very high repayment rate.

Since its foundation, Grameen has refined its repayment mechanism to the following

formula:

• Loans last one year

• Installments are paid weekly

• Repayment starts one week after the loan

• An annual interest rate of 20 percent is charged

• Repayment amounts to two percent of the loan amount per week for 50 weeks

• Interest payments amount to 2 taka per week for every 1,000 taka of the loan

amount.

The success of the Yunus model of microfinance became the tool for poverty

alleviation in many development projects. Grameen Bank, together with it founder received

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the Noble Peace Prize in 2006, about 30 years after its establishment. Grameen Bank now

gives loans to over 7.5 million poor people-97 percent of whom are women - which help the

poor lift themselves out of poverty. 68 percent of the families of Grameen Bank borrowers

have crossed the poverty line. Motivation towards repayment is high, with rates currently

running at 98.4 percent, and the bank has been profitable in every year of its existence except

1983, 1991 and 1992 (Yunus, Lehman, & Ortega, 2010). Another milestone in the history of

microfinance was when the United Nations dedicated 2005 as the year of microfinance.

In an article published by UNIFEM, Cheston and Khun (2007) cited that

microfinance programs have the potential to transform power relations and empower the

poor—both men and women. In well-run microfinance programs, there is a relationship of

respect between the provider and the client that is inherently empowering. This is true

regardless of the methodology or approach. As a consequence, microfinance has become a

central component of many donor agencies’ and national governments’ gender, poverty

alleviation, and community development strategies. Several studies and the experiences of

a number of MFIs have shown, however, that simply putting financial resources in the

hands of poor women is not enough to bring about empowerment and improved welfare

(Cheston & Kuhn, 2007). It is for this very reason that microfinance maybe considered as

the springboard for other poverty alleviation tools such as the use of business to solve a

social problem.

One of the often articulated rationales for supporting microfinance and the targeting

of women by microfinance programs is that microfinance is an effective means or entry

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point for empowering women. By putting financial resources in the hands of women,

microfinance institutions help level the playing field and promote gender equity and

equality. However, microfinance is not enough. It has to be supplemented with human

capacity building and other functioning that would allow one to lead the kind of life he/she

has reason to value.

When Yunus conceptualized microfinance and started providing small loans to a

group of enterprising women, his frame of mind was that access to finance is a basic human

right that allows a human being to lead the kind of life one has reason to value. Providing

small loans to the entrepreneurial poor allows them to participate in the economic activity

and reduce the chance of being exploited by those who have access to finance. It is

important to consider that the loan is intended to supplement the financial needs of an

existing or a start-up entrepreneurial poor who do not have access to financial services

enjoyed by big business ventures Therefore, microfinance is always connected to

entrepreneurial activity.

Yunus’ vision of creating a world without poverty made him keen to specific

initiatives that would provide capacity for the poor to be fully responsible and accountable

for his/her own development. As a typical economist, he did not critique the existing

neoliberal-capitalist model but instead he used it as a model for ensuring that the economic

rights of the poor, especially women will be protected. That is why, he coined a new term –

social business as a new kind of capitalism. With the end in mind to create a world without

poverty, he partnered with other business companies to transform the capitalist model of

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doing business into something that will benefit the poor and the marginalized. Yunus’

development model evolved from just simply microfinance to the so-called social business.

While there is no clear and established definition agreed upon by experts, this paper

adheres to the definition of Yunus. In his book entitled, Building Social Business, he defined

social business as a new kind of capitalism. It aims to solve a social problem. Grameen bank

has both pioneered the development of microfinance and created nearly 30 businesses

designed to alleviate poverty (Yunus, 2010).

III. Typology: Social Business and Social Enterprise

Yunus, Lehman and Ortega (2010) cited that ‘in the capitalist system, there are two

extreme types of corporate bodies that can be distinguished. On the one hand, companies can

be seen as profit-maximizing businesses, whose purpose is to create shareholder value. On the

other, non-profit organizations exist to fulfill social objectives’ (Yunus, Lehman, & Ortega,

2010). Social business attempts to borrow from and merge these two opposing concepts.

The figure below shows a diagram that illustrates social business.

Figure 1: Social Business vs. Profit Maximizing Business and Not for Profit

Organizations

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In a social business, the cost has to be covered by the earnings of the business but

investors do not earn profit. Investors may claim the initial capital without interest after it

is rolled over. Unlike the profit maximizing business, investors in social business have to be

cause-oriented rather than profit oriented. As an organization, social business has to be

managed like a ‘regular’ business and not like a charity, even though the objective is

different from a profit-maximizing company. While it attempts to achieve the social

objective, social businesses need to recover their full costs so it can be self-sustaining. The

owners never intend to make profits for themselves as there are no dividends. Surplus or

profit has to be used either to expand the business to benefit more people who do not have

access to these products and services.

“[While] its primary purpose is to serve society, a social business has products, services,

customers, markets, expenses and revenues like a ‘regular’ enterprise .It is a no-loss, no-

dividend, self-sustaining company that repays its owners’ investments…” (Yunus, Lehman,

& Ortega, 2010.p. 311).

In the book entitled, Building Social Business, Yunus (2008) identified two types of

social business. The type I social business is a non-loss, non-dividend company devoted to

solve a social problem and owned by investors who reinvest all profits in expanding and

improving the business (e.g. Grameen Danone, Grameen Veolia Water, BASF Grameen, etc.).

The type II social business is a profit-making company owned by poor people, either

directly or through a trust that is dedicated to a predefined social cause (e.g. Grameen

Bank, Otto Grameen Textile Factory, etc). It is important to remember that unlike a non-

profit organization, social business has investors and owners who don’t earn a profit, a

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dividend, or any other form of financial benefit and will take back their original investment

amount over a period of time they define. Yunus made it clear that a social business cannot

be called as such, if there is an increase in the money going to investors beyond the original

investment and if there is financial benefit by those who establish the business.

The definition of social business is close to the definition of social entrepreneurship

as defined by Mair and Marti as ‘a process involving the innovative use and combination of

resources to pursue opportunities to catalyze social change and/or address social needs’.

Yunus, Lehman and Ortega (2010) asserts that ‘social businesses can be seen as a subset of

social entrepreneurship, which includes both profit and not-for-profit initiatives, and which

can be distinguished from conventional entrepreneurship through the ‘relative priority given

to social wealth creation vs. economic wealth creation. In business entrepreneurship, social

wealth is a by-product of the economic value created. All those who design and run social

businesses are social entrepreneurs - but not all social entrepreneurs are engaged in social

businesses (some models, for instance, still include conventional dividend payments to profit

oriented shareholders).’

In the Philippines, a social enterprise is usually in a form of fair trade organization,

microfinance institution, cooperative, and community-based enterprise serving the fishers,

farmers, and the indigenous people, social business and small and medium enterprise that

have embraced a social mission as the core of the business. Figure 2 shows the typology of

social enterprises.

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Figure 2: Social Enterprises Typology

A social business is a totally new form of business which is an alternative to charity but it is

not a charity organization. In social business, businesspeople may use their business skills and

creativity to solve social problems. Based on figure 2 which shows the typology of social

enterprises, one could conclude that all social businesspeople are social entrepreneurs but not all

social entrepreneurs are engaged in social business.

IV. Social Enterprises with the Poor as Primary Stakeholders (SEPPS) Framework

Social entrepreneurship is defined by many experts and organizations based on respective

contexts. Of the many definitions of social entrepreneurship, the most common component includes

the concept of innovation in a social organization that creates social value. In an attempt to

contextualize social entrepreneurship in the Philippines, Dacanay (2012) made a very extensive

and pioneering research on this field for her PhD dissertation at Copenhagen Business School.

Fair trade

organizations

Microfinance

institutions

Cooperatives

Community-based

enterprises

Small & medium

enterprises

Social

businesses

Social Enterprises

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Dacanay proposed that for one to understand what social entrepreneurship is, the following

elements have to be considered to differentiate social enterprises from private/profit maximizing

enterprises: 1) primary stakeholders and beneficiaries; 2) primary objectives; 3) and enterprise

philosophy (Dacanay 2004).

Table 1: Key Elements Differentiating Social and Business Enterprises

(Dacanay 2004)

Private Enterprise Social Enterprise

Primary Stakeholders and

Beneficiaries

Rich stockholders Marginalized sectors

Primary Objectives Bottom line: profit Double or triple bottom line

Enterprise Philosophy Accumulative Distributive

Dacanay’s definition emphasized that the poor and marginalized should be the primary

stakeholders in a social enterprise which is established with the primary objective of triple bottom

line which considers people, planet and profit. What is distinct in social entrepreneurship as

compared to the traditional profit-maximizing enterprise is the distributive philosophy. This

implies that in a social enterprise the profit is being distributed to the stakeholders.

Dacany (2012) used the SEPPS or social enterprises with the poor as primary

stakeholders as her research framework in her dissertation:

‘SEPPS are social mission driven wealth creating organizations that have at least a double

bottom line (social and financial), explicitly have as principal objective poverty reduction/

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alleviation or improving the quality of life of specific segments of the poor, and have a

distributive enterprise philosophy’.

She argued that there are three aspects to the working definition of SEPPS as target

population:

1. “SEPPS are social mission driven organizations explicitly pursuing poverty

reduction/alleviation or improving the quality of life of specific segments of the poor as

primary objective.

2. SEPPS are wealth-creating organizations that have at least a double bottom line (social

and financial).

3. SEPPS have a distributive enterprise philosophy. Unlike in a business or private enterprise

where payments or wages made to the poor are considered as financial costs to be

minimized, these are considered as social benefits for primary stakeholders that need to be

optimized. Moreover, the distributive philosophy is expressed in the surplus or profits accruing

to the poor as dividends as well as being reinvested back to the enterprise to sustain the

fulfillment of its social mission or in activities that benefit and assist the poor in overcoming

poverty or improving their quality of life.

Dacanay’s definition of social entrepreneurship calls for a transformation of framework of from

a diluted neoliberal model with double or triple bottom line as proposed by Yunus to an alternative

model which is the social solidarity economy model. As I write this paper, I am attending the

International Meeting for Social Solidarity Economy (SSE) held at the University of the Philippines.

As I reflect on possible models, I find SSE as a more appropriate framework that is aligned to

Dacanay’s definition of social entrepreneurship.

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Social entrepreneurship in the neoliberal framework asserts that there is no alternative to the

invisible hand that dictates one’s life. While one has to survive and compete in the free market

economy, a social entrepreneur thinks beyond survival and competition. He or she works using the

rule of the game in the free market economy but he/she ensures double or triple bottom line. My

critique in using the neoliberal framework to social entrepreneurship or social business is that core

principles of neoliberal framework do not fully align with the three elements of a social enterprise

as defined by Dacanay. There is a need to use an alternative development perspective that is

focused on people’s wellbeing while considering sustainability. The Social Solidarity Economy (SSE)

is a promising model which is an alternative to the existing neoliberal economy, one which is deeply

rooted on solidarity and cooperation, rather than the pursuit of narrow, individual self-interest and

that promotes economic democracy, alternative models of local economic governance, equity and

sustainability rather than the unfettered rule of the market (Allard & Matthaei, 2013). Dacanay’s

SEPPS or social enterprises with the poor as primary stakeholders are closely aligned to the SSE

framework.

V. Defining Women’s Empowerment

Over the last decade, women empowerment has been defined differently by different

organizations and experts of gender and development depending on various contexts. It is so

complex to define because of varied contexts of women, specifically of poor women. Amidst

complexity of definition of women empowerment, most of the literature agreed on certain concepts.

Most experts agree that women empowerment is a process of change, enabling people to gain the

power to be key players themselves. The element of “agency” is common in most definitions of

empowerment. Naila Kabeer defines women empowerment as “the expansion in women’s ability

to make strategic life choices in a context where this ability was previously denied to them

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(Kabeer, 2001).” Women’s ability to make strategic life choices is an exercise of their ‘agency’. The

freedom of choice and action is highlighted by Kabeer (2001).

Globally, the United Nations identified women’s advancement and empowerment in decision-

making as an essential element of sustainable development (Wee and Heyzer 1995, 7). The

empowerment of people, specifically of women, was also announced as the main objective of

development at the Copenhagen Declaration of the World Summit on Social Development (WSSD).

The UN recognized women’s empowerment and gender equality as a Millennium Development Goal

(MDG) ‘in their own right and central to all other development efforts’ (United Nations

Development Programme [UNDP] 2005, 3). The UNDP has also categorized ‘women’s

empowerment’ as a major policy goal. UNDP policies related to women’s empowerment tend to

emphasize individual participation, skills and economic self-reliance. Perhaps most significant is

the addition of the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) and the Gender-Related Development

Index (GDI) to the United Nations Human Development Index rankings. In both general

empowerment initiatives and women’s empowerment programs, the influence of neo-liberalism is

evident.

Several of the major themes linking empowerment approaches include an emphasis on the

individual, economic independence as a major objective and the focus on economic responsibility,

capacity enhancement, choice, and productivity. For example, the World Bank defines

‘empowerment’ as the process of increasing the capacity of individuals or groups to make choices

and to transform those choices into desired actions and outcomes. Central to this process are

actions that both build individual and collective assets, and improve the efficiency and fairness of

the organizational and institutional contexts which govern the use of these assets (World Bank

2007).

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Similarly, although the OECD does not explicitly define ‘empowerment’, the term is frequently

linked to terms such as ‘local’, ‘equality’, ‘effectiveness’, ‘self-help’, ‘capacity-building’ and

‘decentralization’.

‘Empowerment’ has been embraced by a diverse range of institutions, from the World Bank

to Oxfam to many more radical NGOs, but few of these share common definitions. Some

organizations leave the term undefined (for example, UNDP, Oxfam and Save the Children). In

others, different departments have their own interpretations, and there is no clear centralized

definition. The various definitions of women empowerment present the institutions’ attitudes to a

number of different issues. These include:

1. Process versus outcome: Many organizations, such as SDC, CIDA, DFID and Oxfam, view

empowerment as both an outcome and a process. Others (such as USAID and UNDP) take an

instrumentalist view of empowerment and focus more narrowly on the importance of

process and the assumption that participation alone will lead to empowerment. CARE

International not only focuses on the importance of participating in the decision-making

process, but also prioritizes those processes that lead people to perceive themselves as both

able and entitled to make decisions. This leads to an emphasis on the gaining of power and

control over decisions and resources that determine the quality of one's life. This focus has

also been adopted by many of the agencies to encourage an emphasis on participation in

decision making (Save the Children, IFAD and the World Bank), ability to organize (Oxfam)

and political participation (UNDP).

2. The scope of empowerment also varies. Empowerment is often associated with gender

perspectives, and many organizations (such as CIDA and USAID) only use the term

‘empowerment’ within the remit of gender issues.

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3. Agency versus structure: Many agencies, such as SDC, CIDA and CARE International, have

adopted a focus on agency, whereas DFID (in particular) emphasizes the importance of

‘reforming political institutions’ and structures.

4. The role of outsiders in empowerment: Oxfam (2005) and CONCERN promote self-help

approaches to empowerment, with the belief that doing things for people where they could

do them themselves could be harmful. Others (UNDP and USAID) have a different attitude;

only outsiders can bring about empowerment. Changes must be made at government level

and via civil society organizations; it is the role of external institutions to facilitate internal

change processes.

VI. Women’s Empowerment Framework

Sara Hlupekile Longwe, a gender expert from Lusaka, Zambia proposed a framework on

empowering women which is explicitly political, arguing that women’s poverty is the consequence

of oppression and exploitation (rather than lack of productivity), and that to reduce poverty women

must be empowered. Her framework postulates five progressively greater levels of equality that

can be achieved (listed from highest to lowest) namely:

1. Control – which means equal control over decision-making in factors of production;

2. Participation – means equal participation in decision-making processes related to

policymaking, planning and administration;

3. Conscientisation – means attaining equal understanding of gender roles and a gender division

of labor that is fair and agreeable;

4. Access – means equal access to the factors of production by removing discriminatory

provisions in the laws;

5. Welfare – means having equal access to material welfare (food, income, medical care).

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The figure below illustrates Longwe’s framework.

Figure 2: Longwe’s Women Empowerment Framework

Longwe’s framework is intended to assist ‘development planners’ to identify what women’s

equality and empowerment would mean in practice, and to determine to what extent a

development intervention supports greater empowerment. The tool examines elements of a

project’s design or a sectoral program to determine to see if it affects the five different levels of

equality either negatively, neutrally, or positively. Longwe’s framework shows progressive levels of

equality which translates into empowerment.

Another framework that maybe used in analyzing the three cases that are presented in this

paper is the CARE framework of women empowerment. CARE (2007) proposed that in empowering

women, there are three dimensions that are interrelated, structuring and influencing one another.

The three dimensions are agency, structure and relations. A brief description for each dimension is

shown below.

Welfare

Access

Conscientisation

Control

Participation

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Table 2: Dimensions of Women Empowerment by CARE

DIMENSION DESCRIPTION

1. AGENCY the aspirations, resources, actions and achievements of women

themselves; carrying out their own analyses, making their own decisions,

and taking their own actions

Every person has agency, every person analyses, decides, and acts. Agency is a

continuum, from less to more. Empowerment involves a journey through

which poor women increase their agency.

2. STRUCTURE the broader social structures that condition women’s choices and

chances

Structures can be both tangible and intangible; they are composed of both

behavioral patterns that can be observed and counted but also the ideologies

that underpin why some behaviors – or thoughts – are socially acceptable.

Examples include kinship, economic markets, religion, castes and other forms

of social hierarchies, educational systems, political culture, resource

control/ownership dynamics, forms of organization, and many more.

3. RELATIONS the social relationships through which women negotiate their needs and rights

with other social actors, including men

Both agency and structure are mediated through relationships between and

among social actors while, at the same time, forms and patterns of

relationships are deeply influenced – frequently in hidden ways – by agency

and structure. Empowerment, in part, consists in individual women building

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relationships, joint efforts, coalitions, and mutual support, in order to claim

and expand agency, alter inequitable structures, and so realize rights and

livelihood security.

The figure below illustrates the interrelation of the different dimensions in empowering women using the CARE framework.

Figure 3: Conceptual Framework: The CARE Model (Source: HTTP://WWW.WEMC.COM.HK/WEB/FRAMEWORK.HTM, accessed on October 13, 2013)

The CARE framework adheres to the definition that empowerment is both a process and an

outcome that comprises three dimensions—agency, structure, and relationships. As a process,

empowerment is the expansion of women’s individual and collective capacities to access, influence,

and control resources; to confront and challenge gender norms and structures of power; and to

negotiate with, influence, control, and hold accountable the actors and duty bearers that mediate

Sub-

Dimensions

Carrying out our own analyses, making

our own decisions, and taking our own

actions. Empowerment involves poor

women becoming the agents of their own

development.

Agency

Connecting with other social actors,

building relationships, joint efforts,

coalitions, and mutual support, in order to

claim and enact agency, alter structure, and

so realize rights

and livelihood security

Relations

Routines, conventions, relationships and

taken-for-granted behavior Institutions that

establish agreed-upon significations

(meanings), accepted forms of domination

(who has power over what or whom), and

agreed criteria for legitimizing the social

order.

Structure

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between structural inequities and women. As an outcome, empowerment results in 1) greater

access to, influence over, and control of a) economic, b) ideological, c) political, d) social, and e)

cultural capital, and 2) enhanced ability to understand and analyze the terms and conditions of

gender exclusion and discrimination.

In interpreting the framework, it assumes that there is no one, uniform causal pathway.

Causality can flow from any of the three dimensions. It does not assume that changes in one

dimension lead to changes in any of the other two. This means that processes of empowerment are

nonlinear: individual or group empowerment can come and go, weaken and strengthen, move

forward, freeze, or regress. And finally, sustainable changes in empowerment are only possible

when changes occur across all three dimensions.

The purpose of this paper is to look into specific cases of social enterprises that empower

women. The paper makes use of Longwe and CARE’s framework in analyzing the three cases

namely: ECHOstore, Rags2Riches and Hapinoy.

VII. Case 1: Women Empowerment through ‘ECHOstore’

The three women founders: Pacita Juan, Reena Francisco, and Jeannie Javelosa opened

ECHOstore on September 2008 at The Serendra in Taguig City, one of the high-end shopping

enclaves in the Philippines. ECHO means Environment & Community Hope Organization. The first

concept store of its kind in the Philippines, ECHOstore positioned itself as a wellness and lifestyle

store with the tagline “Live a Sustainable Lifestyle”. It is a social enterprise, a retail store, a hub, a

collaborator, a lifestyle choice. As a marketing integrator, ECHOstore Sustainable Lifestyle

represents products from small marginalized, cultural communities, creative industry practitioners,

women groups and foundations. They work through, and network with, partner organizations and

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communities to represent products to help break the cycle of poverty through livelihood programs

and fair trade practices.

ECHOstore is a for profit venture with a social cause. It is a retail store. Each product

represents its ideals of health, fair trade, and care for the environment. It gives market access to

small or marginalized groups, bridging the gap to bring products to the hands of people who need

and can appreciate them. As a thought leader and connector, EchoStore Sustainable Lifestyle holds

the shared vision of many like-minded people who advocate and work for a better world: one which

is more equitable, cleaner, and collaborative, with healthier and environmentally-sound lifestyles.

As a challenge to consumers, ECHOstore Sustainable Lifestyle is a lifestyle choice.

Customers can purchase products that reflect the Filipinos' world-class design excellence, ingenuity

and creativity. By purchasing EchoStore products, one becomes part of the emerging trend of the

conscious and caring consumer group. As a center, ECHOstore Sustainable Lifestyle is a place to

meet and discuss, define and articulate, lecture and share anything about sustainable living. It is a

venue with a constant stream of events, lectures and seminars. It is a center where information,

disseminated in all ways possible and is the key in creating the conscious and caring consumer.

“On its shelves are the products of artisans in communities around the Philippines

– from the women in the dumpsites of Payatas to the indigenous tribes of Zamboanga.

Most of the products have long been produced by these groups, but never had a formal retail

outlet until EHCOstore came along. These products were categorized based on ECHOstore’s

three principles: products that ‘nurture and sustain’ the self, the community, and the planet.

The first group of products was meant for the self”.

The second group, or products for the community, pertained to those which “through

conscious consumerism, promote fair trade and poverty alleviation programs. ECHOstore’s owners

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actively south out partnerships with large foundations and organizations that focus on livelihood

and community development, to find ways to bring their products to the market.

The third category is included products for the planet, or “eco-friendly purchases” made

using sustainable agriculture, especially for organic products, and wise environmental practices

(Sebastian 2010).

The ECHOstore concept coincides with the CARE model of women empowerment which

shows the interplay of agency, relations and structure. By providing these three components,

women are empowered to produce quality products and to improve their economic condition. The

opportunity given to them through partnership with several community groups and livelihood

programs and a structure for collaboration among agencies made the way to a sustainable social

business enterprise. More linkages and human capacity building have been initiated by the

company in order to further its cause for sustainable development.

Longwe’s framework of women empowerment may also be illustrated below in the

ECHOstore case. “Control” comes in when women in the respective communities are given equal

control over in decision-making in relation to factors of production. What drives them to come up

with best products is the competition in the market through ECHOstore’s sales. The ECHOstore sets

its principles and standards but never did it impose on partner institutions what type of products

they want from the group. However, the group or partner community is free to choose specific

output or products following the principles of the store of sustainable lifestyle and produce

products that may qualify to the standard. The consignment style of selling the products would

empower them more to compete with the best products available in the market plus the ‘ecological’

value of each product. “Participation” comes in when the ECHOstore provides a venue for them to

improve their own products and to discuss with partners the processes related to policymaking,

23

planning and administration. “Conscientisation” comes in when the company implemented a

gender division of labor that is fair and agreeable. “Access” means equal access to the factors of

production by removing discriminatory provisions in the laws. By the mere existence of ECHOstore,

women are provided access to a market their products at a just and competitive price. “Welfare” of

women members in their respective communities is a priority of the leaders of partner institutions.

By providing them with livelihood with stable income, coming up with medical mission projects for

the poor and providing human capacity building through trainings, the partnership of ECHOstore

with these institutions becomes a means of taking care of the welfare of the marginalized and poor

women.

In an article on The Philippine Star dated March 20, 2011, Jeannie Javelosa, one of the

founders of ECHOstore narrated the story of a poor woman whose life was transformed and who is

empowered by the partnership of ECHOstore with the community she belongs. Below is her story

(lifted verbatim from the article):

“This is a true story. A poor woman (let’s call her Minda) in her mid-forties with five

children lives in the dinky home with her mother and her grandmother. Her husband, a tricyle

driver, was the only breadwinner for the family. Due to the difficulty of life, the husband was

often bitter, talking down on his wife that he even had to take care of her mother and

grandmother. There was no way anyone would ever employ Minda at her age and state. Minda

was depressed and desperate.

Minda soon met up with a community of other women who taught her how to recycle

plastic bags, how to stretch them, separate them based on colors. Soon Minda was holding a

crochet needle and working on these plastics, producing fashion lifestyle bags designed by

artist Ann Wizer, another dynamic woman who started the Invisible Sisters Group. Minda’s

24

husband was still laughing at her for working with “garbage.” These bags came to us at

ECHOstore and soon started to sell P300, P800, some at P1,200. Minda would take home the

money, get the price tag of the bag and place it on their cracked bathroom mirror. Soon that

mirror was filled up with price tags indicating the sales of her bags. Minda was putting food on

the table! And her husband stopped laughing at her and started to support her. Minda was

empowered, was feeling creative, was earning money, had a livelihood. Minda is just one of

many in that group of the Invisible Sisters whose lives were uplifted.

In most developing countries, it is primarily men who are afforded opportunities to

seek decent employment. Women are charged with the sole care for the family and household

and made dependent on a man’s income. Livelihood opportunities like those of Minda attest to

the power of women empowerment! We have many of such stories as we come face to face

with poverty. It is these stories that we never tire of recounting to customers at ECHOstore

Sustainable Lifestyle. But our stories at ECHOstore are positive and happy because we have

begun to empower them as we meet them in livelihood community groups during our product

development workshops all over the country.

These stories of women empowerment are what fuel our passion to continue what we

do — sell, sell, sell community-created fair trade products. For each sale we conclude echoes to

a livelihood opportunity for many women groups. It is also interesting to note that almost 95

percent of product suppliers at ECHOstore are made by small women group, and also almost

80 percent of customers who buy from ECHOstore are women! They buy for their families and

friends, they buy for their husbands, they buy for themselves. The transformative power of

women cannot be stressed more than this month as we continue to celebrate the 100th year of

International Women’s Day (March 8). This celebration began in Copenhagen in 1910 when a

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group of women in pursuit of equal employment opportunities came together at an

International Conference of Working Women and created the idea of celebrating an

international day for women. The inaugural International Women’s Day was then honored the

following year, in 1911, in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. This spirit of women

empowering women is now part of the fiber of many groups all over the world.

In a talk ECHOstore I gave in Davao a couple of months back at the Kamindanawan,

an event of the NGO Mindanao Commission on Women (MCW), I met close to 75 women

community leaders from Mindanao. This congress gathering presented the achievements and

challenges related to the peace negotiation, the developmental goals Mindanao is working

towards 2020. They also launched the “Green House Project,” which is the campaign for

lifestyle and policy changes for a sustainable environment. The MCW continues to influence

policy and programs with both government and private sector from a perspective of women’s

needs.

My take away from that visit was a remarkable admiration for these women as they

stood for and continued to work for peace in Mindanao. The Mothers for Peace movement is

the grassroots base of the MCW. Mothers brought their children together in youth camps to

teach peace, to interact between Muslim and Christian, to begin the peace process in the

hearts of the youth. We, who are in the city, take peace for granted. But there in the war-torn

Mindanao areas, peace is a rarity and progress much sought after. These women leaders sat,

discussed, looked to build a strong supportive community. During socials and program time,

the various cultural groupings came in their beautiful colorful indigenous costumes. The T-

bolis, Bla’an, Mandaya, Manobos, Subanen, Maranaw, Bagobo were some I could recognize in

that sea of colors and patterns.

26

From Mindanao, we have put on ECHOstore shelves products like weavings and

accessories from Claret Samal Foundation that helps the Badjaos and Sama Dilaut groups, T-

boli and T-nalak accessories woven and created by women, traditional tablea cocoa and

bignay wines from Puentespina Farms (dynamically headed by two generations of women: the

matriarch Charita Puentespina and her daughter-in-law, our original Filipino cheesemaker

Olive Puentespina who are themselves empowering many with employment for their successful

enterprises); Bio-dynamis tea granules and jellies; and even lampshades made of durian pulp.

Women helping women, empowering and transforming lives, allowing their hearts to

shine forth... My hubby has always told me that women are the stronger sex because they can

express love in the fullest capacity, from the gentlest and sweetest part of the soul. He has

always told me that a woman’s love has the capacity to transform man at his core. I so fully

agree with him!”

Indeed, ECHOstore’s concept of sustainable lifestyle and in partnership with various groups

and institutions for women, Filipino women become truly empowered.

VIII. Case 2: Women Empowerment through ‘Rags to Riches’

“It all started with an irritation, a social injustice, talented but marginalized women,

and very passionate young professionals. Payatas is the site for one of the Philippines’ largest

dumpsites. It is also home to thousands of families. Most of these families live through

scavenging, doing odd jobs, or taking advantage of contractual opportunities” (Source:

http://rags2riches.ph/v2/, accessed on October 12, 2013).

“Payatas is also home to a large pool of mothers who stay home to take care of their

children while their husbands work or look for work. Their time at home, and the garbage pile

27

near their homes, presented several opportunities for extra income for these women. A few

years ago, some of these women found scraps of cloth amidst the dump site and around their

area. They started weaving foot rugs and rags out of these. Not long after, the trend grew into

an informal cottage industry of rug-weavers” (Source: http://rags2riches.ph/v2/, accessed

on October 14, 2013).

“Unfair trade found its way into this informal cottage industry. The mothers lacked the

market access and information, and thus, heavily relied on middlemen. These middlemen

started to source the scraps of cloth directly from factories. As a result, no scrap cloth could be

found around the area that could be used for free anymore. The mothers had to buy their raw

materials from a series of middlemen. They would then sell their finished rugs that they weave

for days and weeks, to another set of middlemen who get bulk of the profit. The women, who

could make around 8-10 pieces of rugs per day, only earned P1.00 per rug (around .02 Cents

USD), as a result of this chain of unfair trade” (Source: http://rags2riches.ph/v2/, accessed

on October 14, 2013).

In 2007, a group of young professionals (including Angeline Benavides-Bulan and Memey

Mendoza) from Life Directions was brought to Payatas by the Jesuit Brother who was assigned in

the area: Brother Xavier Alpasa S.J. Together, they discussed the problem of the mothers and were

able to propose initial solutions (Source: http://rags2riches.ph/v2/, accessed on October 14, 2013).

Almost at the same time, a group of students from the Business Innovations Class (including

Mark Ruiz and Reese Fernandez) visited the rug-weavers of Payatas. The group of students was

able to identify the same problems and created a framework that is designed to direct the women of

Payatas to the market (Source: http://rags2riches.ph/v2/, accessed on October 14, 2013).

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The Rags2Riches team of young professionals grew (Maan Lim, Timothy Agulto, Bam

Aquino, Timi Gomez) to support the growing project that was then part of the Simbahang Lingkod

ng Bayan (socio-political arm of the Jesuits), CGE (Citizens by Good Example) Program (Source:

http://rags2riches.ph/v2/, accessed on October 14, 2013).

Jeremy Kho, Dr. Protacio, and Rodney Laurel, were the first people to provide financial

assistance to the budding organization. Their generosity and passion made it possible for

Rags2Riches to jump start and emerge into the social business enterprise that it is now. The

Rags2Riches team (Management Committee) also believed and invested on the initiative. They

pooled in together the Php 100,000 (around 2000 USD) that became the seed capital of

Rags2Riches, Inc (Source: http://rags2riches.ph/v2/, accessed on October 14, 2013.

The Rags2Riches team helped the women improve the quality and style of the rugs and

transformed them from multi-colored to solid-colored. The market’s response to the elegant and

stylish rugs was remarkable. The first few bazaars of Rags2Riches during this time were sold-out

and garnered positive feedback. The number of women members also slowly grew from 3 to 30

(Source: http://rags2riches.ph/v2/, accessed on October 14, 2013).

In less than 4 months, Rags2Riches was able to grow the initial capital by almost 400%. The

overwhelming response of the market, especially during the Christmas season and the momentous

November 22 RIIR by Rajo Laurel Launch at the EDSA Shangri-la Garden Ballroom, inspired the

team to grow the social business enterprise into a formal corporation (Source:

http://rags2riches.ph/v2/, accessed on October 14, 2013).

Using Longwe’s framework of “women empowerment”, by training the “nanays” to come

up with improved quality products, they are given control over the product design such that it is

29

competitive in the market and at the same time provided them opportunity to participate in

economic development. Rags2Riches provides access to a just and fair price of their products. For

the rugs, the labor cost ranges from 30-50% of the retail price, depending on each member's ability

and willingness to produce the rugs. As for the bags, the labor cost ranges from 20-50% of retail

price, depending on the skills set required per product. Aside from the regular sales that provide

regular income, Rags2Riches also provides training and education to the community which is called

the REAP, or Rags2Riches Enterprise Activation Program. REAP provides opportunities for the

members to get an edge in their lives and careers whether they decide to stay in Rags2Riches or

move on to another endeavor (Source: http://rags2riches.ph/v2/, accessed on October 14, 2013).

With the global recognition of Rags2Riches, a number of civil rights groups and NGOs provided

scholarships and health services to women members for their welfare.

In terms taking care of women’s welfare in the community, various projects were initiated

through Rags2Riches in order to uplift the morale and capacity of the “Payatas women” through

access to health services. “Fifty-three (53) mothers from Payatas received free eye examinations

last November-December 2009 courtesy of Sarabia Opticals. The mothers, all members of

Rags2Riches, availed of this service through the generosity of Dr. Vivian Sarabia. Dr. Sarabia

recently partnered with Rags2Riches to create designer contact lens cases for her company, and in

return promised her services to all Rags2Riches members who were in need of prescription

eyewear. This partnership was solidified through the common passion of empowering women in

impoverished communities” (Source: http://rags2riches.ph/v2/, accessed on October 14, 2013).

Every week, the mothers trooped to the Sarabia Optical branch in SM North EDSA to get

their eyes checked. They are then guided through the visual acuity tests by Dr. Noel Narciso and Dr.

Lydia Acenas, and assisted by the staff led by Ms. Tina Caballes, the branch manager. The test

30

results were passed on to Dr. Sarabia who fitted the mothers with new prescription eyeglasses

three weeks later (Source: http://rags2riches.ph/v2/, accessed on October 14, 2013).

Recipients of the eyeglasses were delighted with the clear vision it provided which would

prove helpful in their increased production of rugs and bags. The Rags2Riches mothers were all

very thankful for the opportunity to get their vision checked (Source: http://rags2riches.ph/v2/,

accessed on October 14, 2013).

To illustrate how women are empowered, consider the story of ‘selfless love’ of

Susamarie Estabillo, or Ate Nhing. This story is lifted from a personal reflection of Jennilyn

M. Ludovice, Community Relations Officer of Rags2Riches.

“Payatas – an infamous place in the Metro, very known for its identity that has been

long branded as [one of the] “dumpsites” of the entire metropolis. But for me, this place has

recreated its new identity – an identity which I couldn’t actually think of the best words to

describe it. I’ve seen, felt, and personally witnessed a new profound feeling in this place. A place

of different stories, varying perspectives, different experiences, but all boils down to one

meaningful phrase – Selfless Love.

Susamarie Estabillo, or Ate Nhing, is a mother of 5, a leader in her own community -

Nazareno, mentor of the Lupang Pangako Community, a family planning lecturer, and a very

devoted servant of God – she’s just one of the many Nanays that help me see the beauty beyond

the imperfection of Payatas.

She was featured in one of the episodes of GMA’s Documentary Show I-Witness hosted

by Kara David. The show featured her life in Payatas, as one of those who live by plowing tons

of garbage being dumped at their place. It also featured how she lives her life vibrantly despite

31

of the struggles she has to face every day. The first time I visited her home, something

immediately capture my attention. Those were the 5 wall clocks clipped around her small,

humble house. So I asked her about it. “Pulot lang ang mga ‘yan ng asawa ko sa basura, inayos

na lang namin kasi sayang naman (My husband just retrieved those from the dumps. We fixed

it because it is still of value.)”, she answered with a smile. She has a very positive attitude that

truly inspires a lot of people. No wonder she was featured in a national TV show.

Her participation with R2R has been very fruitful. Even from the start, she already

amazed us with her moving attitude when she selflessly offered a portion of her small house to

be used as a storage area for the scraps to be used in making bags. Now that’s not just a small

portion because the rugs occupied almost ¼ of her house.

It all started during our R2R Mission-Recollection where the Nanays were grouped by

their community. There were only 2 from the Nazareno group, Ate Nhing and another Nanay.

During the election of officers, since they were only 2 in their group, Fr. Javy Alpasa would

always joke at Ate Nhing as the winner for all the positions. But behind all the jokes and

laughter, we were unaware that she was taking her appointment seriously. And because of her

diligent and effective effort, she made a very big difference. She stood as the leader of all the

Nanays she recruited at her community. From 2, their members increased to 14; from 3-5 rugs,

their weekly production increased to 70-90. And now, she is also the mentor of the Lupang

Pangako Community. She was able to achieve all of these in 3 months!

As Nazareno’s leader and coordinator, she sacrificed most of her time for the welfare

of her community – a sacrifice that she selflessly offered without expecting anything in return.

It was a pure manifestation of love and dedication not just for her work but for her fellow

community members as well. Instead of doing rug and earning from it, most of her time is

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really being occupied by her tasks as the coordinator. When the Nazareno Community was still

on its early phase, most of the Nanays are reluctant to join the group. Some hesitated, and

some doubted. But she remained faithful to her cause. And God heard and answered her

prayers. As time goes on, more and more Nanays are joining the community, sharing values

with her and with R2R.

Most of our notices came in short periods. And every time this happens, she would

always ask us to give her ample time to inform the rest of the community. With limited

technology at hand, she would go from house-to-house on foot, struggling against the

scourging heat of the sun and the harsh environment, despite of her heart ailment. When I

personally witnessed this scenario, it was not pity that ran through my emotions; it was a

great feeling of admiration and respect for her. Before, when I was still in college, I was

amazed by how successful businessmen strived for their companies; by how they made their

sales amplify; how they took over the market’s majority, and everything else. I never thought

that there are other things greater than these. And I never thought that these things are just

waiting to be noticed in one of the corners of Payatas.

Ate Nhing is just one of the many Nanays who are truly admirable. They may not be

rich in money, and deprived of luxury, but they are abundant in love, friendship, and faith.

Now, I know why God loves and blesses the poor so much – because like Him, even though they

are carrying the world with the Cross on their shoulders, they still share unending love to the

society. Selfless, unconditional love.

Recently, Ate Nhing just received a 4-year college scholarship for her eldest son from

Ms. Kara David. She has been a participant of the R2R Strategizing Seminar about Marketing,

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Finance, Operations, and Production. Truly, countless blessings come for those who share

selfless love.”

The story of Ate Nhing is a story of an empowered woman. Although the initial intention of

the founders of Rags2Riches was to help alleviate poverty in the community, they were also able to

protect the rights of women and promote women empowerment through a just structure of

capitalism, as Yunus would call it as “a new kind of capitalism”.

Finally, according to Reese Fernandez, the President and Founding Partner of Rags2Riches,

“the long-term goal of Rags2Riches is to empower the communities into eventually owning the

production side of the social business enterprise. To prepare for this, Rags2Riches is staring a

cooperative fund that the community can use for scholarship programs, loans, health insurance, and

whatever programs that can benefit the community and its members”.

IX. Case 3: Women Empowerment through ‘Hapinoy’

The third case being considered in this paper is the MicroVentures Inc (MVI), which is

composed of dedicated professionals who aspire to be the leading partners of micro entrepreneurs

in the country. They believe that micro financing is a powerful tool to empower socially and

economically challenged families. The vision of MVI is to be the leading partner of micro-

entrepreneurs in the Philippines by leveraging micro-financing as a powerful tool to empower

socially and economically challenged families. Their mission includes the following: (1.) The

Development of Viable and Sustainable Business Models for Micro-entrepreneurs; (2.) The

Empowerment of Micro-entrepreneurs through capacity-building; (3.) The Formation of Strategic

Partnerships with Micro-financing institutions and other organizations (Source: Hapinoy website,

accessed on October 13, 2013).

34

Hapinoy is a Social Business Enterprise. It is not an NGO, as perceived by many. Its most

basic definition is, “a social business enterprise uses business models to further social objectives.

And as such, sustainability and scalability are built into the endeavor” (Yunus 2010). On the other

hand, Microventures Inc. (MVI) is the group that creates and manages the Hapinoy Store Program

(Source: Hapinoy website, accessed on October 14, 2013).

The Hapinoy name is a play on the words Happy and Pinoy, the colloquial word for Filipino.

The entire Hapinoy Store Program focuses on the sari-sari stores in the Philippines, small

neighborhood convenience stores or retail-based outlets that sell various things, mostly basic

commodities. These kinds of stores are almost always located within or as an extension of the

storeowner’s home. With about 700,000 stores in the country, sari-sari stores make up 30 to 40%

of total retail sales in the Philippines (Source: Hapinoy website, accessed on October 14, 2013).

In 2007, MicroVentures Incorporated launched the Hapinoy Store Program with

microfinance borrowers in mind. Upon realizing that 15 to 20% of microfinance borrowers use the

capital to put up stores or expand their inventory, the Hapinoy Store Program first focused on

aggregating all these sari-sari store owners for bulk product discounts (Source: Hapinoy website,

accessed on October 14, 2013).

Today, Hapinoy Sari-Sari Store Program has evolved into a full-service micro entrepreneur

enhancement program: a network of micro, small, medium and large enterprises where Hapinoy

Community Stores and sari-sari stores serve as the hubs for goods and services that are coursed

through the program and offered to its Base of the Pyramid target (Source: Hapinoy website,

accessed on October 14, 2013).

35

The Community Store concept is a unique aspect of the Hapinoy Program. They serve as a

depot and distributor to smaller Hapinoy sari-sari stores, as well as a hub for information and

opportunities for the community. A sari-sari store is chosen in each town and upgraded to be a

Hapinoy Community Store (Source: Hapinoy website, accessed on October 14, 2013).

Once a sari-sari store is converted to the Hapinoy Community Store, it receives the

following benefits:

Access to capital Store Improvement

Product Sourcing and optimized cost of goods

Business and management-related training such as inventory and financial management

Technical and Sales Support through the Hapinoy Store Doctor Program, i.e. Hapinoy field

team members who manage 8 to 11 Community Stores each Systems, such as point of sales

New businesses and additional revenue streams for the store, such as the SMART

Communications Retailer Program, i.e. offering airtime sales to other stores Base of the

Pyramid target.

Through the Hapinoy Store Program, stores are also able to access even more capital

through additional microfinance loans granted by partner microfinance institutions. On the

other hand, these stores also become pivotal in building the sense of community in the town

gathering and building relationships with and among other Nanays.

The Hapinoy Program mainly partners with women micro entrepreneurs called Nanays. The

Program aims to help each nanay to:

Have a profitable and sustainable business

Reap practical, tangible benefits from partners and microfinance institutions

36

Become knowledgeable with the help of training programs and support services

Be confident and empowered.

Hapinoy primarily work with nanays because the micro finance partners primarily work with

women. But in truth, they also work with tatays (Fathers), and anaks (sons or daughters) as in some

cases, Hapinoy has become a family business and not just the mothers. The Hapinoy program aims

to benefit the whole family.

Though the Nanays are their main partners, they also interact with different partners for each

aspect of the program. For their Micro Finance Institutional partners, they currently work with the

Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD) and Taytay Sa Kauswagan Inc. (TSKI).

Private corporations, schools and organizations are also partners of the Hapinoy program.

It was noted that all of Hapinoy’s community stores are owned by female micro-

entrepreneurs. Studies have shown repayment rates are better when its women who are receiving

the loans – not only in the Philippines, but globally as well. Studies also show that when it is women

who are earning the money, it directly benefits the household. Indeed, sari-sari stores lend

themselves more to being run by women than men. They are launched by women who don’t have a

source of livelihood.

By the end of 2010, there were community stores in each of the 153 towns served by

Hapinoy. The total sales volume for the Community Stores for 2009 alone was at Php 573 million.

Furthermore, Hapinoy completed its five-year development plan covering the period 2010 to 2014.

Part of this plan was on the enterprise’s thrust to generate social investments at the best rate

possible to find its expansion programs, both in terms of geographic coverage and product

offerings. The grants it received would be dedicated to research and development (R&D).

37

X. Conclusion

Social enterprises featured in this paper: ECHOstore, Rags2Riches, and Hapinoy illustrate

how social enterprises could empower women.

Using Dacanay’s SEPPS or social enterprises with the poor as primary stakeholders, the

three enterprises are indeed social mission driven wealth creating organizations that have at least a

double bottom line (social and financial) with principal objective to reduce or alleviate poverty or

improve the quality of life of the poor, and they do have a distributive enterprise philosophy. In fact

two of them namely, ECHOstore and Rags2Riches have triple bottom line which heavily considered

environmental sustainability.

Using Longwe’s women empowerment framework, it can be observed that all social

entrepreneurs involved in the development and establishment of ECHOstore, Rags2Riches, and

Happinoy started to conceptualize their social enterprises for the welfare of the poor and

marginalized women and for the environment. The welfare level of empowerment led to the

creation of enterprises which provided these women access to the market through capacity

building and effective marketing strategies by social entrepreneurs. What is common in all of the

three enterprises is that they were able to remove middle men or traders who take advantage of

access to the market. Conscientisation comes into the picture when these women realized that

there are gender roles and gender division of labor which must be agreed upon. Most of the

enterprises being studied promote home-based work so that women can attend to both productive

and reproductive roles since their husbands have to report to work. As the division of labor within

the household level is being negotiated, women could now have equal participation in decision-

making process because they too have their income while attending to their reproductive roles. The

picture would have been different if they just have to depend on their husbands in terms of

38

economic survival. It was also observed that women have control over production factors. They are

not being exploited or pressured to finish a certain number of products within a very limited time.

They do have the power to make the decision to participate in the means of production.

The CARE International framework which asserts that empowerment is both a process and

an outcome that comprises three dimensions—agency, structure, and relationships shows that

women partners of the three social enterprises being studied exercise their ‘agency’ in leading the

kind life they have reason to value. Their ability to exercise their agency is deeply entangled with

the structure created by social entrepreneurs that would provide them access to the market and

their relationships within the community. All women partners of the three social enterprises are

highly organized. As a result of being organized, they are able to establish a very good relationship

with social entrepreneurs and synergize their efforts and resources.

39

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