One More Day with Rodnie
One More Day with Rodnie
From a sari-sari store owner to a grocery store owner.
Rodnie Docejo has been a microfinance client of Taytay sa Kauswagan, Inc. (TSKI) for almost six years. He lives in and runs a sari-sari store in a relocation site in Concepcion, Iloilo. His residence and place of business were given by the national government and financed by a foundation as one of the individuals displaced during Typhoon Yolanda in 2013.
Before the calamity, Rodnie’s business was a small salon in their town’s capital. They were forced to evacuate in the relocation site when massive floods devastated their town. He recalled that he was only able to secure his clothes and his electric fan during the evacuation.
Several organizations extended assistance to the evacuees to help them recover from the calamity. One of these organizations is TSKI, which offered its lending program to the evacuees and help them recover more quickly. That time, Rodnie decided to join as a member to avail a loan for his proposed business—a sari-sari store.
His small store was located in the outskirts of their new community. Because of his diligence and hard work, Rodnie grew his sari-sari store business into a larger grocery store which was able to cater to the needs of surrounding barangays and nearby towns.
Through his grocery store, Rodnie was able to finance his personal needs and buy home appliances. His first investment was a refrigerator which he used to sell processed meats and ice. He also sold a variety of household goods and grocery products.
According to Rodnie: “Napakalaking tulong ang tiwala na ibinigay ng TSKI. Dahil dito nakapundar ako ng gamit sa bahay. Nagsimula ako ng walang walang. Ngayon nakakapundar na.”
(The trust given by TSKI to me is a very big thing. Because of their [services], I was able to save up and buy appliances for my home. I started with nothing. Now, I have invested into new assets.)
Then came the Covid-19 pandemic which also affected their community. Because of the implementation of the community quarantine, the operations of his sari-sari store was severely affected. His monthly income decreased by almost 40-50%. As a savvy microentrepreneur, Rodnie shifted to selling his products online through social media. He accommodated orders online and distributed them directly to the buyers’ household during the pandemic. However, the recurring community quarantine remains a challenge to his business especially affecting their operating hours. His supply chain was also severely affected due to the limited mobility of goods during the pandemic.
Under Project Revive MFI-Ph funded by USAID and implemented by RestartME Inc and Chemonics International, Rodnie was able to borrow a new loan of Php50,000 to continue financing his business venture. Recently, he began offering ready-to-eat foods in his store to augment his income. Rodnie is also planning to expand his business and engage in rice trading. He hopes to save enough to have additional capital to finance his business expansion or be able to leverage his performance as a diligent borrower to be able to take out a new loan.
Revive MFI-Ph project aims to help many more microentrepreneurs like Rodnie to sustain their business and recover more quickly from calamities including the COVID-19 pandemic.