Alam niyo bang may 8 million nanoenterprises sa Pilipinas—at karamihan sa kanila ay pinapatakbo ng kababaihan. They’re the sari-sari store owners, mga tindera sa palengke, online sellers sa Facebook, at ang kapitbahay nating may maliit na buy-and-sell sideline. They’re everywhere… but ironically, they’re also invisible—especially sa mga polisiya at programa ng gobyerno.

Let me share with you three important lessons I presented during the Women Entrepreneurship and Financial Inclusion forum held at Ateneo and organized with the World Bank and the Australian Embassy. These takeaways, I believe, are essential if we want to truly empower our women entrepreneurs—and by extension, uplift our communities.

1. Nanoenterprises are not microenterprises—and it’s time we make that clear.

One size doesn’t fit all, KaSosyo. That’s especially true when we lump nanoenterprises under microenterprises. Hindi sila pareho.

Nanoenterprises have assets between ₱3,000 to ₱150,000 while microneterprises have up to ₱3 million pesos. They’re often unregistered, informal, and born out of need, not opportunity. Ibang-iba ang pangangailangan at galaw nung mas maliit ang ari-arian compared sa malaki. Most of the time, these women entrepreneurs didn’t choose the business—they were forced into it to support their family, send kids to school, or simply survive.

When we treat them like they’re microenterprises with the same access and capacity, we end up offering the wrong solutions—like big loans when they actually need more savings and social protection.

So ano dapat? We need policies and programs that are tailored specifically to nanoenterprises. This means providing support that matches their size, risk level, and realities on the ground. Think social safety nets, affordable childcare, and easy access to health and disaster insurance.

2. Let’s stop pushing loans and start promoting savings and insurance.

Loans are useful lalo na sa mga negosyong pangkabuhayan ang layunin. BUT, hindi palaging yan ang sagot,

In our study, we found that the most effective coping strategies during crises weren’t loans—they were savings and indigenous insurance systems think damayan and bayanihan system. Kaya special mention ang damayan program namin sa study, our very own SEDPI KaTambayayong.

Why? Because these give immediate help without adding debt. Immediate as in within 24 hours (pero 1 week processing ang pangako namin sa members). Dahil mas mahalaga sa amin ang actual ocular verification kaysa matagal na document requirements. Tao bago dokumento?

Imagine this: Typhoon hits, your goods are damaged, and you have zero income. Would you rather take on a loan with interest, or receive a quick insurance or damayan payout within 24 hours?

If we want resilience, we need to shift the focus from utang to risk protection and liquidity. Tulungan natin sila makaipon, hindi lang umutang.

3. Women entrepreneurs are resilient—but they’re also carrying double the burden.

Our study showed just how resourceful and strategic women can be. Most of them manage more than one income-generating activity. They’re budget masters, natural salespeople, and know how to stretch every piso.

But here’s the catch: habang nagpapatakbo sila ng negosyo, sila rin ang taga-alaga ng bata, taga-luto, taga-linis—lahat!

During the pandemic, women’s small businesses became the fallback income of the family. Pero nung bumalik ang face-to-face classes, marami sa kanila ang tumigil sa negosyo para alagaan ang mga anak. Interestingly, our findings showed that women’s enterprises struggled less when their husbands helped out in the business or at home. This reinforces a key insight: household cooperation—not dominance—is what drives real gender equity.

If we want women to be just as economically productive as men, we need to address their unpaid care burden. A concrete step? The government should beef up public daycare centers—not just in urban areas, but especially in underserved rural communities. When women can rely on safe, accessible childcare, they can focus on growing their enterprises and contributing more fully to the economy.

On the digital front, we also need to be realistic. For many nanoentrepreneurs, digital commerce is simply impractical. Why? Because they can’t afford smartphones, they don’t have regular access to mobile data, and in many rural areas, there’s hardly any signal to begin with. That’s the everyday reality of many of our KaNegosyo nanoenterprises in the provinces. Before we push e-commerce solutions, we have to first invest in telco infrastructure and affordable digital access—or risk leaving our nanoentrepreneurs even further behind.

KaSosyo, it’s time to give recognition where it’s truly deserved.

Our women nano-entrepreneurs are not just side hustlers—they’re shock absorbers, carers, breadwinners, and community builders. Let’s create systems that recognize their contributions, respect their realities, and respond to their needs.

Ang pagyaman, napag-aaralan at napagtutulungan.

The following is the transcript of the paper presentation delivered by Vince Rapisura, President of the Social Enterprise Development Partnerships, Inc. (SEDPI) and Lecturer at Ateneo de Manila University, during the forum “Women Entrepreneurship and Financial Inclusion.” The event was held at the Ateneo de Manila University on March 20, 2025, and co-organized by the Ateneo Center for Social Entrepreneurship (ACSEnt), the World Bank, and the Australian Embassy to the Philippines in celebration of Women’s Month.

The open forum at the Women Entrepreneurship and Financial Inclusion event—organized by the Ateneo Center for Social Entrepreneurship (ACSEnt), the World Bank, and the Australian Embassy—offered a dynamic exchange of insights among panelists and participants. Moderated by Ana Tan, the session brought together Vince Rapisura (SEDPI), Dr. Liliana Sousa (World Bank), and Conrad De Jesus (Investing in Women), with closing reflections from Dr. Roberto Galang, Dean of the John Gokongwei School of Management.