The following is the transcript of the paper presentation delivered by Vince Rapisura, President of the Social Enterprise Development Partnerships, Inc. (SEDPI) and Lecturer at Ateneo de Manila University, during the forum “Women Entrepreneurship and Financial Inclusion.” The event was held at the Ateneo de Manila University on March 20, 2025, and co-organized by the Ateneo Center for Social Entrepreneurship (ACSEnt), the World Bank, and the Australian Embassy to the Philippines in celebration of Women’s Month.
Good day, everyone. Thank you for the opportunity to present the key findings of our report entitled “Resilience of Women Entrepreneurs in Mindanao and the Impact of Access to Finance and Digital Technologies.”
This study aims to understand how women nano-entrepreneurs in Mindanao cope with economic and environmental shocks—particularly the COVID-19 pandemic and a series of natural disasters—and how access to finance and digital tools affects their ability to recover and sustain their livelihoods.
The focus of the study is on nanoenterprises, which are the smallest type of microenterprises with asset sizes ranging from ₱3,000 to ₱150,000. These businesses are usually unregistered and operated by women, do not have employees, and are often driven by necessity rather than opportunity.
We used SEDPI longitudinal surveys conducted from 2020 to 2023, complemented by focus group discussions (FGDs) in 2024. The research sites were in Region XI and Region XIII, particularly Agusan del Sur, Davao de Oro, Davao del Norte, and Surigao del Sur—areas with high levels of informal female self-employment but limited formal economic support.
Mindanao is the poorest island group in the country, with 34% of the population self-employed and a poverty incidence of 25%, much higher than the national average. By comparing entrepreneurs who were able to bounce back with those who continued to struggle, we identified patterns of resilience, the role of gender, and the effectiveness of interventions such as microfinance and digital technology adoption.
Ultimately, this report provides actionable insights for government and microfinance institutions to design policies and programs that strengthen the resilience of women-led nano-enterprises. It offers recommendations in four key areas: access to finance, digital inclusion, disaster mitigation, and social protection—all through a gender lens.
Our respondents were mostly women—about 88% to 90% across four years of surveys and 100% in the FGDs. The average age was 42 in the surveys and 51 in the FGDs. Most participants were married, although a significant number were live-in partners or widows. Both survey and FGD participants had lower educational attainment than the national average.
The dominant income-generating activities (IGAs) were in retail, vending, or trade—comprising about 74%, with livelihoods such as sari-sari stores, food vending, and online selling. Other activities included food processing (31%), farming (26%), services, manufacturing, and animal raising. Only 4% were engaged in private employment.
Interestingly, 71% of the women managed more than one IGA, reflecting a strong entrepreneurial drive. Only 5% had no IGA, showing the depth of their economic engagement. Despite this, 78% were not the primary breadwinners, relying instead on their spouse’s income.
These women are necessity entrepreneurs. Their motivations include supporting their families, funding their children’s education, surviving economic hardship, managing household finances, and dealing with a lack of employment options. Notably, no respondents mentioned starting a business out of a desire to innovate or capture market opportunities. Entrepreneurship was primarily a survival strategy.
We also saw gender-related patterns. During the pandemic, many women’s businesses became the economic fallback for their households. However, by 2023, as face-to-face classes resumed, many women stopped or reduced their IGAs to take care of their children. This highlights how domestic responsibilities continue to limit women’s economic participation. Meanwhile, men returned to formal employment, shifting household financial dynamics and reinforcing the double burden women face in balancing livelihood and caregiving.
These findings reveal a complex picture of entrepreneurial resilience—shaped by necessity, constrained by limited resources, and influenced by strong family obligations.
Digital tools played a significant role in enhancing resilience. They enabled women to reach more customers, improve communication, and showcase products—especially during the pandemic. Although usage declined after restrictions were lifted, some women continued using digital platforms for efficiency and market access.
Survey data showed that 73% of women owned mobile phones, but only 58% used smartphones, with the rest using basic phones. Only 4% owned laptops. All devices were Android-based. Facebook and Messenger were the most used platforms, but many women shared their social media accounts with younger relatives, showing limited personal digital control. Mobile wallet use was not common among FGD participants.
Barriers to digital adoption included weak internet signals, lack of mobile load, and low digital literacy. These challenges limited the use of digital tools, especially as face-to-face commerce resumed. Usage of platforms like Shopee, Lazada, Facebook, and Messenger for selling peaked in 2021 but declined by 2023, except for Shopee. Mobile wallets like GCash saw a rise during lockdowns but declined post-pandemic. Rural participants preferred cash due to ease, connectivity issues, and transaction fees.
There was a clear divide between digital and non-digital adopters. Non-digital adopters came from poorer communities, engaged in traditional labor-intensive livelihoods like farming and vending, had lower educational attainment, and often relied on their husband’s income. Digital adopters, in contrast, combined traditional businesses with online selling, digital marketing, and e-commerce. They often had some college education and contributed more to household income. Digital adopters gained broader market access, diversified income streams, and managed risks better. Yet challenges like poor connectivity, digital illiteracy, and transaction costs still hinder broad digital transformation.
In terms of disaster resilience, the Philippines is the most disaster-prone country globally, with communities in CARAGA and Davao regularly facing typhoons, floods, earthquakes, and conflict. SEDPI members experienced a series of disruptions: the COVID-19 pandemic affected 100% in 2020, Typhoon Vicky in 2020 and the February 2024 floods affected 22%, while the December 2023 earthquake impacted 16%.
In March 2020, 51% of women entrepreneurs halted their IGAs, and many others struggled. By 2021, there was slight recovery, but ongoing inflation and repeated disasters kept many from returning to pre-pandemic levels. Only about one-third of respondents had recovered by 2024. Women reported business damage, product loss, declining customer capacity to pay, and in many cases, starting over from scratch.
Gender again played a role. In 2022, women’s IGAs improved when men supported them at home. But by 2023, as men returned to work, women’s business activity declined. The data shows that household cooperation, not dominance, fosters resilience. Women reported being more strategic, resourceful, better at budgeting, and more charismatic in selling than men—skills that helped them adapt.
FGDs revealed common coping strategies: foregoing expenses, withdrawing savings, taking microfinance loans, taking additional jobs, and using indigenous insurance like Damayan. The most effective were savings and earning extra income. Borrowing from friends and relatives was seen as least effective. Despite hardships, women expressed strong optimism.
For ideal strategies, women prioritized savings, cost-cutting, and using indigenous insurance systems. SEDPI’s KaTambayayong was cited for offering fast payouts within 24 hours—compared to commercial insurance which often took months—and for providing comprehensive coverage at a single, affordable price.
From these findings, we offer several policy recommendations to support women nano-entrepreneurs’ resilience:
1. Strengthen social protection:
- Improve access to affordable childcare by staffing and expanding public daycare centers.
- Coordinate fragmented social protection programs more effectively. MFIs—not government—were often the most reliable support during crises.
- Ease membership requirements to Pag-IBIG, SSS, and PhilHealth by reducing contributions, simplifying enrollment, and subsidizing premiums for the poorest.
2. Integrate disaster response into social insurance:
- Design special assistance packages like unconditional cash transfers, emergency shelters, and livelihood grants for high-risk areas.
- Streamline aid distribution with simplified claims and real-time updates.
- Offer 0% interest, long-term micro-housing loans for families rebuilding after disasters.
3. Advance financial and digital inclusion:
- Enhance digital and financial literacy among women, covering e-commerce platforms, digital tools, and planning.
- Engage younger family members to bridge the generational digital gap.
- Develop local online marketplaces with price lists and supplier directories for rural businesses.
- MFIs should offer savings-focused products with flexible withdrawal policies. Since many women can only save in small amounts, pairing savings with community-based insurance and government safety nets is essential.
Finally, MFIs play a critical role. They should be supported to offer affordable, multi-risk insurance products that complement government programs. The Insurance Commission should simplify claims for amounts below ₱100,000. MFIs can also serve as conduits for livelihood and recovery funds, combining grants and zero-interest loans. Pre-identifying MFIs and beneficiaries will ensure quicker post-disaster rollouts.
To sum up, building women’s resilience requires a holistic approach—supporting their roles as both entrepreneurs and caregivers, enhancing their financial tools, and creating systems that respond quickly and effectively to shocks.
Thank you.
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