Message at the launch of the ILO-Great Women-J.P. Morgan Women Entrepreneurs Peer Programme

By Mr Khalid Hassan, Director, ILO Country Office for the Philippines at the launch of the ILO-Great Women-J.P. Morgan Women Entrepreneurs Peer Programme, 29 August 2022, Manila, Philippines

Statement | Manila, Philippines | 29 August 2022
  • Ms Jeannie Javelosa, CEO of GREAT Women;
  • Mr Carlos Mendoza, Senior Country Officer and Head of Banking at J.P. Morgan Chase Philippines;
  • Volunteers from J.P. Morgan Philippines Good Works and Women on the Move;
  • Women entrepreneurs;
  • Partners, guests, ladies and gentlemen, magandang umaga sa inyong lahat (good morning to all of you).
Welcome to the launch of the Rebuilding Better Women Entrepreneurship Flip your Biz Peer and Technical Support Programme second batch!

This initiative is part of the ILO Rebuilding Better Project, with GREAT Women and our donor, J.P. Morgan.

The project aims to help women entrepreneurs in the National Capital Region and Cebu to recover from the pandemic, by adopting more sustainable and resilient business models, and strengthening their access to training, finance and markets.

We launched our Flip your Biz peer programme first batch with 30 women entrepreneurs in February this year. It enabled them to meet and learn from other entrepreneurs with whom they can do business.

We were glad to hear the experiences of the first batch of women entrepreneurs. They followed recommendations and improved their businesses in their own unique ways. Alibaba has chosen Ms Marilyn Ceradon of LVMCC Construction to go to China for their entrepreneur exchange programme. Ms Chicho, a young mom who owns Caravan Coffee, used what she learned to expand her cafe. And Cathy, President of Nurture Wellness Village, is getting her business of selling fresh fruit juice off the ground.

Congratulations to GREAT Women for designing a programme that meets the real needs of women entrepreneurs.

Most importantly, let me thank J.P. Morgan Philippines, for continuing to work with us and providing strong mentorship support through their Good Works volunteer programme. Our women entrepreneurs found your strategic workshops on financial management, communication and networking to be very useful.

We are pleased to announce that J.P. Morgan’s Women on the Move will be joining us in this second cohort.

We need more multistakeholder-led initiatives like this one, which invest in the potential of women entrepreneurs to help them build more sustainable businesses.

This aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Goal 5 on gender equality and women empowerment, Goal 8 on Decent Work, and Goal 17 on partnerships.

The Decent Work Country Programme of the Philippines emphasizes the need to enhance the capacity of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to create inclusive and sustainable employment.

Women entrepreneurs play a crucial role in building more resilient and sustainable enterprises. In response to the ILO’s Global Call to Action, strategic support for women entrepreneurs should be part of an inclusive and human-centred COVID-19 crisis recovery.

Together, we have this programme that will help make this happen. We count on your continued support and partnership to build a better future of work that leaves no one behind.

Maraming salamat po (Thank you very much).