TAGUM CITY—More than 3,000 sari-sari store and carinderia owners in Davao del Norte gathered to celebrate International Women’s Month at the JuanaFest 2018, an event organized by the Tagum City Council of Women Foundation Inc., in partnership with Coca-Cola Philippines.
Most of the attendees are graduates of the Coca-Cola 5by20 Sari-Sari Store Training and Access to Resources program, a 12-session course that spans three months focused on strengthening their knowledge on micro enterprise and overcoming possible challenges in running a business.
The program is implemented in Davao del Norte through TCCWFI.
Seven TCCWFI-Coke Juana Best STAR graduates were recognized for the exemplary improvement of their business skills and management. Along with the rest of the Davao del Norte STAR graduates, they join the ranks of more than 130,000 graduates of the Coca-Cola 5by20 program in the Philippines.
“As we continue implementing and improving the Coca-Cola 5by20 program, we hope that we can help more women in their micro enterprise, and most especially their lives,” said Gilda Maquilan, 5by20 Lead and Sustainability manager of Coca-Cola Philippines.
“As shown in the latest 5by20 Impact Report, 96 percent of the participants reported growth in their sari-sari stores,” she added.
The report added the women graduates of the 5by20 STAR Program increased their income from their sari-sari stores by 12 percent, revenue at 17 percent, and their inventory at 20 percent.
Introduced in 2011, the STAR program is part of a global initiative of The Coca-Cola Company to empower women within its value chain. The sari-sari stores and carinderias are the largest retail channels for the beverage brand in the local market.
In Davao del Norte, the Coca-Cola 5by20 STAR Program was launched in partnership with TCCWFI in 2014. To date, more than 3,000 women from Tagum City and neighboring municipalities have graduated from the program.
“It is not enough that we make women aware of their capabilities. We must equip them with the right skill set so they can reach their full potential,” said Maquilan, as she underscored the importance of the STAR Program in women empowerment.
“Through the STAR program, we are helping women across the country accomplish this and realize their dreams for themselves and their families,” she added.
Coca-Cola Philippines aims to reach over 200,000 Filipino women by 2020. Through the years, the STAR Program has evolved to include distressed women OFWs and beneficiaries of the government’s conditional cash transfer program, among others.