Madiskarte Moms took centerstage at the first Asia-Pacific UN Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) Awards. This is a celebration of the ingenuity and tenacity of Filipina entrepreneurs.
About Madiskarte Moms
Madiskarte Moms Ph is an online community of women and mompreneurs in the
Philippines. When we think of “women in business,” we usually think of women executives in corporate jobs. We rarely think of female grassroots entrepreneurs and community leaders who are the driving forces in local economies.
During the the pandemic, we saw the rise of many women-led enterprises and organizations that persisted to keep the economy moving despite many challenges. The untapped potential of these women was further spurred through Madiskarte Moms PH.
After four years since its inception, Madiskarte Moms has almost 200,000 mompreneurs in its community. The community continues to promote digital upskilling, enhance entrepreneurial skills, and expand access to community support for its members to start and grow their home-based businesses.
Asia-Pacific UN WEPs Awards
The UN WEPs is a forum and awards ceremony that celebrate companies championing gender equality in the region.
The first ever WEPs highlighted critical topics such as women entrepreneurship and digital inclusivity. And Madiskarte Moms took the center stage during the event.
Women in business take center stage at UN Women WEPs Awards forum
(From left) Athena Denise Galao, Country Program Coordinator of UN Women Philippines,
led the discussion with the panel composed of women leaders Ahyee Campos, GoDigital
Pilipinas and Country Head of Infosys BPM Philippines, Agnes Gervacio, Connected Women
CEO, Atty. Krystal Lyn Uy, NEDA Undersecretary and Melissa Vergel de Dios, PLDT Chief
Sustainability Officer and advocate for Madiskarte Moms PH (MMPH)
Country Program Coordinator of UN Women Philippines Athena Denise Galao led
the discussion. The panel was composed of women leaders: Melissa Vergel de Dios,
PLDT Chief Sustainability Officer and advocate for Madiskarte Moms PH (MMPH);
Ahyee Campos of GoDigital Pilipinas and Country Head of Infosys BPM Philippines;
NEDA Undersecretary Atty. Krystal Lyn Uy; and Connected Women CEO Agnes
Gervacio.
Galao started the discussion with the observation that women who work from home still bear increased domestic responsibilities. Galao posed the question “How do we prevent housework from becoming another barrier for women’s advancement?”
Breaking gender stereotypes
GoDigital Pilipinas representative and Country Head of Infosys Ahyee Campos shares that we should work to break gender norms in home care.
We need to take away the mindset that home care is only for women. Unpaid home care is not allowing women in that kind of working model to really succeed. And so participation of the husband in those conversations needs to be more active and the women need to be more forthcoming—it cannot be assumed that it’s understood.
According to NEDA Undersecretary Atty. Krystal Lyn Uy, the Philippine Development Plan or “the nation’s blueprint’ includes strategies to mainstream gender equality in government.
PLDT Home Supports Women MSMEs
Meanwhile, PLDT Chief Sustainability Officer Melissa Vergel de Dios highlights the creativity and innovation of mompreneurs in the Madiskarte Moms PH community.
mompreneurs in the Madiskarte Moms PH community, emphasizing how PLDT Home supports their small business growth.
Vergel de Dios shares the story of a 2024 Gawad Madiskarte awardee:
This mom needed to buy milk for her child, which cost her the only money she had—P3,000. Not only was her budget just enough, but it was also unfortunately stolen or lost. Instead of being overcome by helplessness, this clever mom sold her old clothes and made P7,000. This mom turned an unfortunate incident into the beginning of her business called HTP or Half the Price. Now that she had capital for a business, she called up all her friends to put their unwanted clothes together and sell them. From that P7,000, her income is now seven figures.
Madiskarte Moms is supported by PLDT Home from its founding. They helped these small businesses not just to survive but to flourish during challenging times. PLDT Home also hosts the annual Gawad Madiskarte Awards, a recognition and awards ceremony for the best businesses by mompreneurs.
PLDT Home hosts masterclasses and lessons that teach women how to create their own
websites. They also share information on how to avoid scams and fraud. Vergel de Dios asserts it takes a whole nation.
Their advocacy for inclusivity for women in business and in tech goes hand in hand with the continuous expansion of the PLDT Home fiber network across the country and support for programs on internet education for the whole family.
More About Madiskarte Moms Ph
Madiskarte Moms Ph or MMPH is an online community established to support and provide education, and business opportunities for Filipino mompreneurs. It boasts over 198,000 community members and 15,000 trained mompreneurs.
In its advocacy to promote digital upskilling and entrepreneurship among women, MMPH has been partnering with local and international brands. MMPH has also won various industry awards, such as the Silver Award from the Asia Pacific Stevie Awards, Grand Anvil, the highest PR award in the country, from the Public Relations Society of the Philippines, Gold Award for Best PR Program in Southeast Asia from the ASEAN PR Network, Prosperity Award from the UN Global Compact Network Philippines, and the PR Campaign of the Year in Community Relations from the
Internal Business Awards.
For more information on MMPH, visit madiskartemoms.ph.
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