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| (L-R) PLDT Inc. Chief Sustainability Officer Melissa Vergel de Dios, PLDT Inc. Chief Operating Officer Butch Jimenez, Gawad Madiskarte 2024 Diskarteng Angat (Start-up) Winner Stephanie Lee Morales, Gawad Madiskarte 2024 Diskarteng Eco-Friendly (Start-up) Winner Bianca Mateum, Gawad Madiskarte 2024 Diskarteng Angat (Scale-up) Winner Ricca Cruz Del Rosario, Gawad Madiskarte 2024 Diskarteng May Puso (Start-up) Winner Avon Tuazon Obedoza, Gawad Madiskarte 2024 Diskarteng Digital and Diskarteng Homebiz Winner MK Bertulfo, Gawad Madiskarte 2024 Diskarteng May Puso (Scale-up) Winner Alona Bazar Laylo, Gawad Madiskarte 2024 Special Citation Recipient of Entrepreneurial Spirit Award Jenielyn P. Sicabalo, Gawad Madiskarte 2024 Diskarteng Eco-Friendly (Start-up) Winner Melissa Blanca Moscoso, Philippine Commission on Women Chairperson Ermelita Valdeavilla (Image Source: Orange Magazine TV/PLDT Inc.) |
Women, especially mothers, who are entrepreneurs have proven time and again that they have the passion and grit to make a difference in their families’ lives. “You work wonders in three different worlds: the world of home, your own personal growth, and the world of business. You’re actually doing three times the work that men are doing,” said PLDT Inc. Chief Operating Officer Menardo “Butch” Jimenez, addressing the mompreneurs in the room during Gawad Madiskarte 2024 at Seda Hotel in Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Taguig City last October 19, 2024 which is the third edition of the annual awards ceremony for outstanding mompreneurs organized by Madiskarte Moms PH (MMPH) since its founding in 2020 in partnership with PLDT Home.
Jimenez added that the true winners are the moms, and that this year’s awardees have inspired many moms to become entrepreneurs “and eventually our whole country will benefit from what the Madiskarte Moms are doing". Now with 191,000 members in the community, MMPH has indeed come a long way from its founding during the pandemic. This year’s awards are focused on sustainable practices, a commitment PLDT shares. “For us at PLDT, sustainability is not only caring for the environment, but it’s also about gender empowerment. This is the embodiment of gender empowerment because it allows women not only to dream, but to take action and to make a difference in society,” said PLDT Inc. Chief Sustainability Officer Melissa Vergel De Dios. One of the most admired women at the said event was Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) Chairwoman Ermelita V. Valdeavilla. She highlighted that authentic women empowerment is about uplifting other women, and that being “madiskarte” holds so much power. “Madiskarte is a powerful word,” Valdeavilla said and wondered out loud why there is not a single word in the English language that could approximate its meaning. “In English, it is translated as strategic, wise, smart, inventive, ingenious, resourceful, clever, witty, innovative, and proactive. Yes, it takes 10 English words to describe madiskarte.” At Gawad Madiskarte 2024, eight women were highlighted as the embodiment of the word “madiskarte".
Gawad Madiskarte 2024 received more than 100 applications, shortlisted 17 mompreneurs and their businesses, and awarded 8 mompreneurs in two main categories (Start-up and Scale-up) and three special awards. This year’s panel of judges was composed of Jimenez, SM Supermalls Executive Vice President for Marketing Jonjon San Agustin, TdLG Designs owner and celebrity mompreneur Tweetie de Leon-Gonzalez, Mayumi Organics owner Angelica Chongco, broadcast journalist Pia Hontiveros and GMA Network Senior Vice President for Programming, Talent, Worldwide and Support Group and GMA Films President and CEO Atty. Annette Gozon-Valdes. For this year’s Diskarteng Angat category, the winners are Stephanie Morales who put up a self-portrait studio called Pixellab (Start-up) and Ricca Cruz del Rosario who started HTP Clothing (Scale-up) simply from the desire to sell her own clothes, and now sells about 30,000 pieces of clothing a month. For Diskarteng Eco-Friendly, the winners are Melissa Blanca Moscoso for Xavier & Xandrie (Start-up) which uses discarded katsa or discarded flour sacks and turns them into bags and Bianca Mateum of Isay Bags (Scale-up) which upcycles waste into bags and storage items. For Diskarteng May-Puso, Avon Tuazon Obedoza opened Bahay Ugnayan Educational Services (Start-up), an after-school tutoring service that frees up moms’ time after work for more personal time with their families; and Alona Bazar Laylo who put up Jobiba Baby Diapers and Wipes (Scale-up), a low-cost, high-quality brand of diapers. All six women each received Php100,000 in cash, Lalamove vouchers worth Php10,000, and kitchen appliances from Tough Mama. In the special awards category, Jenilyn P. Sicabalo won the Entrepreneurial Spirit Award for her business MP Nieva Flower Shop which grows the abaca used for bouquet wraps. She won Php50,000, Lalamove vouchers and Tough Mama products. Meanwhile, MK Bertulfo, founder of FH Moms, won both the Diskarteng Digital and Diskarteng Homebiz awards. Her business helps women in MSMEs participate in the digital economy, providing training and education in conducting business online, setting up e-commerce platforms, and other digital strategies. She won a total of Php100,000 for both awards along with Lalamove vouchers and Tough Mama products.
Every mompreneur at Gawad Madiskarte, and those who are part of Madiskarte Moms’ growing community, have shown bravery and perseverance in running their home businesses. Time and again, they’ve supported each other in the journey to growth and success. Interested aspiring and budding mompreneurs can join the Madiskarte Moms PH community on Facebook and engage in conversations with fellow mompreneurs and business partners. For more information on Madiskarte Moms PH, visit its official website at madiskartemoms.ph.
