Empowering Filipina businesses through volunteerism, mentoring

SUSTAINING SUCCESS:

- By JASPER EMMANUEL ARCALAS

It's 10 a.m., yet the rays of the sun struggle to give light on this September Friday, no thanks to overcast skies.

The downpour had already stopped a few minutes ago. But the threat of rain remains, especially since the state weather bureau issued a yellow heavy rainfall warning because of the Southwest Monsoon.

It starts to drizzle. AJ Tapia takes a deep breath before curving his lips into a smile. No weather disturbance shall rain on his parade on this momentous day of celebrating women entrepreneurs culminating a yearlong series of training sessions, mentoring and networking.

"This bazaar is a celebration that exposes our women entrepreneurs to a larger market. If they get exposed to venues like these, it’s going to open doors for them to have more customers and a bigger market," Tapia, vice president of Philanthropy and Community Impact of Wells Fargo Philippines, said on the sidelines of the opening of the WISE Bazaar in a mall in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig on Sept. 5.

The two-day bazaar caps the yearlong WISE project, which stands for Women's Initiative for Sustainable Enterprises. It aims to empower women-led micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by improving their managerial skills, financial literacy, digital aptitude and expanding their networks through a series of holistic and targeted training sessions as well as collaborations.

"This is a commitment of Wells Fargo to contribute to a stronger economy. We recognize that MSMEs are the backbone of the economy and small businesses help communities prosper and become stronger," Tapia said.

The WISE project is one of the various philanthropic activities of the US-based multinational financial services giant. Like its other programs, volunteerism is at the center of the WISE project.