Enterprising women

Vegetable vendor, sari-sari owner top Mandaue Chamber’s search for ‘winners’

A VEGETABLE vendor in Barangay Paknaan, Mandaue was named this year’s grand winner in the Search for Women In Need, Now Entrepreneurs and Role Models (W.I.N.N.E.Rs) Season 2 of the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI).

Dulce Señerpida, 36, won P50,000 cash during the coronation night last Tuesday at the J Centre Convention. She got the highest rating from the panel in terms of story, personality and self-confidence, question and answer responses and barangay support, which were the criteria for judging.

She said she will use the cash prize as an additional capital for her growing mini-convenience store.

Señerpida’s story is no different from those of the 19 other women entrepreneurs who also struggled and worked hard to meet their needs.

She started selling barbecue in front of Paknaan Elementary School. Eager to earn more in order to send her children to school, she diversified her business and ventured into selling vegetables.

She said the profit they generated allowed her to expand further her business like selling other consumer goods such as noodles, school supplies, canned goods, chips, rice, umbrellas, and medicine, among others.

Her mini-convenience store earns P15,000 a day.

The first runner-up is Mariyn Pajal, 44, a sari-sari store owner in Barangay Alang-Alang. Pajal went home with a P30,000 cash prize. Jessica Solon-Seno was named second runner-up and won P20,000 cash. Seno, 43, is also a sari-sari store owner from Barangay Casili.

Barangay Paknaan also won a motorcycle, being the barangay partner of the grand winner.

The Mandaue City mayor’s wife, Sarah Cortes, in her inspirational talk, commended the candidates, saying they were a testament that dreams can be attained through perseverance and hard work.

She commended the organizers and each barangay for the concerted efforts they put into empowering women and promoting entrepreneurship at the grass- roots level.

“The benefits of the Search for W.I.N.N.E.Rs will redound to the city’s economic well-being as much as it directly benefits the participants and their families,” Cortes said.

She also urged the women entrepreneurs to continue what they have started, especially that they have already gained the much needed training. The W.I.N.N.E.Rs search is a quest for model women micro-entrepreneurs from Mandaue City who are supporting their families and are struggling to rise from poverty through their business ventures.

MCCI has chosen the top 20 microentrepreneurs out of the 70 micro-entrepreneurs endorsed by the different barangays. During the contest proper, the panel of judges selected the top 10 candidates, from whom they picked the top three winners.

The judges were cluster head for Visayas Regional Network Group of ABSCBN Tata Cinco Sy, entrepreneur Lita Urbina of the Laguna Garden Group and Cebu Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale.