One More Day with Julyn
A stay-at-home mom entrepreneur
Julyn Agregado is one of the recipients of a microenterprise loan from the Negros Women For Tomorrow Foundation, Inc. (NWTF), a microfinance institution (MFI) partner for Revive MFI-Ph project funded by USAID and implemented by RestartME Foundation. Under the project, select partner MFIs receive additional financing for business recovery through the Php40-million Covid 19 Loan Fund (C-19 Fund) which they retail to qualified clients.
Hailing from Brgy. Poblacion llawod, Passi City, Iloilo, Julyn was originally a bread stick maker. She used to bake and supply bread sticks to schools and other food stores in her town before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. On a regular day, her business would earn Php500-1,000 which she uses to augment the minimum wage income of her husband. They use their combined income to provide for the needs of their family including four children.
However, Julyn had to close her bread stick business following a series of lockdowns beginning March 2020 when schools and stores were mandated to close due to the pandemic. This prompted her to shift to selling other products such as frozen foods, cold beverages, and other home-cooked foods she could sell from her house. It also helped that she has savings with NWTF which she was partly able to withdraw from during the lockdown period.
In September 2020, Julyn expanded her business of selling frozen foods which included longanisa (pork meat) and other Filipino delicacies like lumpia and chorizo. She saw her profits eventually increase given that these products were fast selling among neighbors. With the new business, Julyn was earning approximately Php3,000 daily.
The loans extended by NWTF were instrumental in Julyn's microenterprise business through the years. With her new Php30,000 loan from the C-19 Fund through Revive MFI-Ph project, Julyn plans to increase the capital for her frozen meat business and incrase her earnings. The loan also comes at an opportune time since the price of pork went up while its supply dwindled in the first quarter of 2021 due to the spread of African Swine Fever in the country.
Despite these challenges, Julyn remains steadfast in her commitment to grow her business and raise above the economic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Julyn said: "Kailangan maging maparaan at wais tayo ngayong pandemya. Marami man negosyo ang nagsara, marami din ang nagkaroon ng bagong simula."
(We have to be clever and business-saavy during this pandemic. Even if many businesses have closed, there are also still many that were given a chance to start new ones.)