Speaking at the United Nations: Joy Munsayac-Cacal, Coca-Cola Philippines’ senior manager of Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability; Katherine Zarsadias, assistant executive director, TESDA Planning Office; Ivanna Dela Torre, senior director of Coca-Cola East Region in the Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam; Karen Davila, UN Women Goodwill Ambassador from the Philippines; and Vidal Villanueva III, TESDA deputy director general for partnerships and special concerns.
The 68th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women was held at UN Headquarters in New York City. For over a decade now, Coca-Cola Philippines has been investing in women together with TESDA. Their online program iSTAR provides women entrepreneurs with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in the competitive world of micro retailing.
“This not only contributes to circularity and packaging, but also provides economic benefits for micro retailers,” Dela Torre notes. Through a mobile platform, they can earn environmental points they can convert to buy more inventory, or incentives that can further grow their business. “Our iSTARs have now become Eco Stars,” Dela Torre says. “By aligning their business operations with sustainability goals, they are setting themselves apart as forward-thinking and responsible retailers.
Through iSTAR’s modules, she learned how to do inventory and budget her earnings, which became her favorite activities. Hilario then decided to expand her business online, and is now earning over P50,000 monthly from her starting fund of P10,000. Now she’s confident enough to say, “Ako si Marife Hilario, ang iSTAR ng Talavera, Nueva Ecija.”
“Going 14 years of women’s economic empowerment at the Coca-Cola Company in the Philippines, this is a milestone moment as we carry and share the stories representing hundreds of thousands of thriving Filipino micro retailers alongside equally passionate partners from the governments, civil society organizations and private sector like us,” Cacal said. “The micro retail industry in the Philippines is 86% owned and operated by women.