Nanay Andresa Receives Award

Nanay Andresa Javines, 2011 Maunlad Awardee for Mindanao - Citi Microentrpreneur of the Year Awards, with
(left to right) BSP Monetary Board Member Atty. Armando Suratos, GMA Network Chairman and CEO Atty. Felipe
Gozon, CCT Fatima Branch Team Servant Marifi Sayon, and CCT Savings and Credit Cooperative Corporate
Secretary Froilan Parado.  

Nanay Andresa Javines, a pioneer micro finance partner of the CCT General Santos branch, has received her P100,000  award as the Maunlad awardee for Mindanao in this year's Citi Microentrepreneur of the Year Awards program.    

Along with seven other winners, she was recognized in a ceremony held at the Metropolitan Museum, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Malate, Manila.  She hopes to use the money to make partial payment on either a 'topdown' (a pick-up style multicab) or a tankal, a motorcycle with open sidecar that she can use for transporting her products between her home and the GenSan fish port. 

Nanay Andresa, a supplier of  tuna packing material, has successfully used loans from CCT -- her initial  loan  was just P3,000 -- to grow her business and improve the quality of life of her family.  Over the past 11 years she has sent three children to college, renovated her house from a hut made of light material to a concrete bungalow,  and helped provide supplementary income to neighbors.    

Her clients are two exporters in General Santos who send sashimi-grade tuna to the US, Canada, and Japan.  She also produces gel ice, slow-melting ice made with corn starch and salt. (Gel ice is placed inside the tuna cavity to keep it fresh longer.) 

The Citi MOTY Awards program is a nationwide search for outstanding Filipino microentrepreneurs. It is now on its ninth run. This year, a total of 140 microentrepreneurs from all over the country were nominated to the awards by 38 micro finance organizations. Twenty-four semi-finalists were selected, from which 15 finalists were chosen, out of which eight winners were named.  

Funded by Citi Foundation, the program is implemented in the country by Citibank Philippines together with BSP and the Microfinance Council of the Philippines, Inc. It was launched in 2002 to celebrate Citi’s centennial year in the country. 

The Citi MOTY awards has two categories.  The Masikap awards focus on the achievements of microentrepreneurs who have set up businesses that are now providing a reliable source of income for their families. The asset size of the microenterprise in this category must be below P300,000. Under this category, one National Awardee gets P200,000, while three Island Group Awardees (one each for Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao) receive P100,000 each.

The Maunlad Awards, on the other hand, recognize enterprising individuals who have grown their businesses and are now providing employment to others outside their family circle. The asset size of the microenterprise in this category must be between P300,000 to P1 million. As with the Masikap category, one National Awardee gets P200,000, while three Island Group Awardees receive P100,000 each.

Microfinance institutions that produced winners this year are Tulay Sa Pag-unlad, First Agro-industrial Rural Bank (FAIR Bank), Rural Bank of Liloy, Inc. , Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation, Inc., Valiant Bank, and CCT Savings and Credit Cooperative. 

Froi Parado, CCT Savings and Credit Cooperative corporate secretary, said Nanay Andresa's winning should encourage staff in the microfinance program to nominate a larger number of community partners  to the MOTY awards program next year. 

 "We do this because we think this is the right thing to do.
This is Citibank's contribution...to nation building.
This is part of a proactive solution to  poverty in
the Philippines," said  Mr Sanjiv Vohra, country officer of Citibank
Philippines, in his welcome remarks.   

Nanay Andresa with other Maunlad Citi MOTY winners
(front row) and members of the national selection
committee.

Winners all (left to right): Anastacio Postrero, seaweeds and danggit dealer;  Jocelyn de Guzman,
 maker of slippers; Corazon Bautista, sewer of  ready-to-wear clothing; Andresa Javines,
supplier of  ready-to-use tuna packing
 material;  Danilo Castro, bottler of herbal medicine; Carina Gonato, producer of chicken lumpia;
 representative of Natividad Gabriel, fish trader; John Cabillon, fresh squid dealer.

Part of the photo exhibit of winners

Nanay Andresa arrives at the awarding
ceremony venue --the Tall Galleries of the
Metropolitan Museum,
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Complex, Malate, Manila. 

with eldest daughter, Analee. 

Analee, Nanay Andresa, Froi Parado,
and writer Myra Gaculais del Rosario.

Bam Aquino, master of ceremonies.