An OFW's Transition to Local Entrepreneurship

A longtime Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) since 2006 whose business started as construction services, Grace Faustino decided to return to the country for good in 2018 and conceptualized on a good business.

In 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe and altered the way people lived and conducted business. The rise of online shopping and selling became a defining feature of the new era. Many businesses shut down or have mostly shifted to online transacting. But above all, people were fearful to step out of their homes, thus the search for convenience. Despite the unanticipated and alarming transformation, Grace saw this as an opportunity to join the new norm and introduce her business to the digital space.

“Binibigyan ako ng Iskaparate at ng Our Market, na bilang isang maliit na nagsisimula ng business, at hindi ko pa linya ang pagbebenta, nand’yan kayo para i-assist ako.”

She decided to market Sabanana Banana Chips by Villa Socorro Farm not just as a business but also as a pasalubong to her fellow Filipinos abroad every time she flew back to the Philippines for a vacation. It was her way of bringing a slice of home to those who missed it most.

Apart from giving it as a pasalubong, this was also her way of promoting saba bananas from her hometown, Pagsanjan, Laguna. For Grace, promoting these banana chips meant giving recognition to the local farmers and producers from her community, promoting them at the same time. This is an undoubtedly smart and touching move, allowing her business and her kababayans to thrive at the same time.

Grace's story of starting as an OFW to a local entrepreneur wasn't easy, she had to learn new skills and adapt to a fast-changing market. Leaping into the world of online selling after years of doing something different was a bold and daring move that not everybody might have the courage to even attempt.

Realistically, one can never know the chances of success with their chosen change in paths. One might be on the way and still decide to turn the wheels around to go back to their comfort zone, but Grace didn’t do so. She knew she had to do something and that she had to change her ways, and she didn’t let any second thoughts hinder her success.

Her business became more than just a way to make a living, it became a bridge connecting her past and present, and her local community to the world.

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