11 February 2014
A program aimed at enabling women retailers to become successful entrepreneurs has given Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand a dose of timely inspiration.
Malaysia's Deputy Director General of the Department of Women Development, Che Azizah BT Che Rashid, led a group in a visit to the country to personally see how the program has been making a dent in women economic empowerment.
She was joined by Coca-Cola Director for Women Economic Empowerment Jackie Duff, Coca-Cola Program Leads from Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, and representatives from various women organizations and microfinance institutions in Malaysia, such as Sabah Women Entrepreneur & Professional Association (SWEPA), Jabatan Hal Ehwal Wanita Sabah, Yayasan Usaha Maju, Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia and Jabatan Hal Ehwal Wanita Sabah.
Coca-Cola Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia intend to begin their respective women empowerment programs drawing from the lessons of the implementation of Sari-Sari Store Training and Access to Resources (STAR) program in the Philippines.
Secretary Joel Villanueva, TESDA Director General, said the agency's partnership with Coca-Cola Philippines was unique because it focuses on empowering a sector that can do more and succeed with just a little push.
"TESDA and Coke Coca-Cola in a sense flipped on the lights for these women by giving them training. Now, they have become a source of inspiration to other women, including budding entrepreneurs of our neighbors Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand," Villanueva said.
Lawyer Adel Tamano, vice president for Public Affairs and Communications (PAC) of the Coca-Cola Philippines, shared that as an international company, Coca-Cola recognizes the significant role of women as potential engines of economic, business, and social development.
"When women are given the opportunity to earn, they tend to reinvest the income to the education and health care of their family; it becomes a viable to solution to breaking poverty cycles," Tamano said.
A joint undertaking of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and Coca-Cola Philippines, the STAR Program aims to economically empower women retailers by providing them access to business and life skills training; access to financing and assets; and access to peer mentoring support.
Women retailers are initially engaged on a 12-week Basic Entrepreneurship and Gender Sensitivity Training before they are introduced to access to resources, where women who successfully graduate from the training are given the chance to apply for microfinancing from STAR Program partners and merchandising support from Coca-Cola Philippines.
The STAR Program on its first year of implementation has reached around 10,000 women retailers with 17,500 women enrolled for 2013 to 2014.
The STAR Program is part of The Coca-Cola Company's commitment to empower five million women all over the world by the year 2020. By year 2015, the "5by20" program is expected to reach 1.5 million women entrepreneurs from 30 countries worldwide.
During the two-day visit in February, the foreign visitors were given a background by officials led by Tamano and TESDA Deputy Director General Atty. Teodoro Pascua about the institutional partnership of TESDA and Coca-Cola Philippines while the STAR Program orientation and learning sessions throughout the visit was spearheaded by Coca-Cola 5by20 Philippines Lead and NPMT chairperson Gilda Custodio-Maquilan and TESDA NPMT chairperson Dir. Sonia Lipio.
They were briefed on the program's operationalization of all three components: (1) Access to Training; (2) Access to Resources; and (3) Access to Peer Mentoring Support.
Among the crucial topics discussed are the development of gender-sensitive program curriculum and module; STAR Program trainers' accreditation; selection of the right program beneficiaries; process of application to access resources both on financing and merchandising; the underlying concepts of providing peer mentoring support; and the program impact monitoring and evaluation. The participants were also given the opportunity to observe an actual training session and to interact with successful program beneficiaries.
"Micro-entrepreneurs are the hope of this generation and the force that will sustain the economy. Helping them become economically empowered, especially the women, has become a moral imperative," Villanueva added.
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