Pili product supplier from Bicol is Citi's microentrepreneur of the year

A supplier of pili products from Sorsogon City in the Bicol region bagged the 15th Citi Microentrepreneur of the Year Award.

Merle Paete of Bacon, Sorsogon received the award on Wednesday at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas headquarters in Manila City.

She got a cash award of P200,000 as well as a trophy, while each of the regional winner was awarded P100,000 and a trophy.

They were also given laptops, IT training, life and health insurance coverage for one year, and entrepreneurship training at the Citi Microenterprise Development Center.

Paete started a sari-sari store in 2002. At the same time, she was also engaged in buying and selling pili nuts and woven mats before expanding her product line to include "lana" or pili oil.

As her business grew, Paete invested in a three-hectare land to grow pili trees.

“I feel so blessed ... Nag-uumapaw sa aking puso ang saya at pasasalamat sa Panginoon,” she said during the awarding ceremony. “Napagtapos ko na ang aking anak sa kolehiyo, may konti na ring ipon at nakabili na ng lupa,” Paete noted.

This year’s national selection committee on the Citi Microentrepreneur of the Year Award was co-headed by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. and Citi Philippines CEO Aftab Ahmed.

Other members of the selection committee include GMA Network Inc. chairman and CEO Felipe Gozon, and SM Investments Corp. Chair Teresita Sy-Coson.

Other awardees in the event were the following:

• Reynante Manimtim, siomai food cart owner and Regional Awardee for Luzon

• Mimosa Cortez, fishing and crab picking business owner and Regional Awardee for the Visayas

• Ivy Millare, buko pie and egg pie manufacturer and Regional Awardee for Mindanao

• Keith Varias, internet cafe owner and Youth Microentrepreneur of the Year

“Their stories are reminders of the value and nobility of our work ... that is why we constantly apply creativity and conviction in creating a regulatory framework that encourages an ecosystem where the poor are granted increased access to and usage of financial services,” Espenilla said. — VDS, GMA News