PLDT Home Biz gives recognition to the most inspiring success stories of mompreneurs in the recently concluded inaugural Gawad Madiskarte

No word better can describe moms pouring out their resourcefulness, creativity, and heart to provide their families the best life possible than madiskarte. The pandemic only saw more of our madiskarte moms, many of whom have ventured into online businesses to augment their household income.

Recognizing these moms and their invaluable entrepreneurial spirit, PLDT Home Biz held the inaugural Gawad Madiskarte online on March 8, 2022 — just in time for International Women’s Day. Hosted by PLDT Home Biz ambassadors Dominic Roque and Roxanne Montealegre, with performances from Jed Madela, Fana, and Gigi de Lana and the Gigi Vibes band, the event awarded six mompreneurs whose stories of hard work, tenacity, and success stood out among 327 entries from all over the Philippines.

Each Gawad Madiskarte winner received a P100,000 cash prize, a brand-new laptop, and a one-year PLDT Home Biz Asenso Fiber Plan among other major prizes to help further her online business.

What turned out to be an unexpectedly emotional tribute to Filipino moms who have moved past adversities and written their own success stories of online entrepreneurship, Gawad Madiskarte 2022 is a landmark project of Madiskarte Moms PH (MMPH) — a community of mompreneurs for mompreneurs created in the thick of the pandemic.

“Providing Filipinos, especially mompreneurs, with the confidence to reach for their dreams and make a difference not only for their families, but also in the community, has always been our mission in Madiskarte Moms PH and PLDT Home Biz,” said Patrick S. Tang, Vice President and Head of PLDT Home Customer Management. “We’re honored to share the inspiring stories of our Madiskarte Moms and we strive to be their steadfast ally through every challenge and in every success.”

With hundreds of entries received for this first awarding, Gawad Madiskarte followed a meticulous selection process and commissioned a group of reputable judges to help choose the winners. The judges boasted industry leaders and master entrepreneurs: Butch Jimenez of PLDT Inc., Undersecretary Blesila A. Lantayona of the Department of Trade and Industry, Annette Gozon-Valdes of GMA Films, Prep Palacios of Google Philippines, Issang Ceballos of Facebook Philippines, restaurateur and chef Happy Ongpauco-Tiu, and Potato Corner and Tokyo Tempura founders Jorge and Jenny Wieneke.

Meet the Gawad Madiskarte winners

Diskarteng Digital (Best Multi-channel Business) awardee Theresa Carbonel-Buenaflor was already a seasoned entrepreneur even before joining MMPH during the pandemic. She had been running Ellana Mineral Cosmetics — a beauty and personal care brand known for its clean, vegan, and cruelty formulas — and came to realize the need to pivot digitally given the threat of the pandemic. With the support of fellow mompreneurs and MMPH, Mommy Theresa was able to expand and sell her products across different platforms including physical stores and e-commerce stores. She has now amassed more than 300,000 followers on her online pages, earning her the aforementioned Gawad Madiskarte recognition.

“This award is so dear to my heart because I joined this group when I was feeling lost doing business during the pandemic. It has not been easy, and I’ve been looking for a community to lift my spirit up.  Sharing my story in MMPH was very therapeutic. It renewed my hope and it made me realize that I can inspire other mompreneurs,” Mommy Theresa said, upon accepting the award.

Mommy Lou NeriaPutian of skincare brand SY Glow, winner of Diskarteng Angat (Fastest-Growing Business), shares a similar story. An entrepreneur advocating effective but affordable beauty products, Mommy Lou started her business from scratch and then scaled up her business to include distributors and resellers from the MMPH community. She now registers an average sales revenue of P1.6 million a month.

For her efforts toward helping the environment while providing employment in communities across Laguna, Mommy Rosanna Dela Cruz Kabiling of waste management company Something Nice Environmental Corp. won the Diskarteng May Puso award (Best Social Enterprise). With the Gawad Madiskarte prize and recognition, Mommy Rosanna is poised to transform her company into a “world-class” brand that promotes sustainability.

Winning the Diskarteng Eco-friendly (Most Green Business) award, Mommy Kaylynn Adolfo owns The Asian Mommy Facebook page where she sells a variety of reusable cloth diapers. Armed with a background in public health and using her page as a platform to share other parenting tips and tricks, she has made it her advocacy to redirect fellow parents to more eco-friendly household alternatives

“MMPH as a community is such a big help because opportunities like these are where we can inspire and motivate other moms to reach for their dreams. To all mommies out there, this is the sign that you can do it,” Mommy Kaylynn said at the event.

Meanwhile, Diskarteng Solid (Strongest Start-Up Business Model) awardee Mommy Abigael Madrigal started out her online bed linen shop Mommy Matters by selling bedsheets her mother had sewn. With the help of MMPH, she was able to get her first customers and eventually expand her brand. Mommy Matters now boasts more than 100 bed linen designs and keeps a loyal customer base, earning Mommy Abigael the Gawad Madiskarte honors.

As the owner of CLARA, an online clothing store whose Filipiniana designs feature detachable butterfly sleeves, Mommy Rachelle Patalud has shown how creativity and flexibility makes a good fashion statement. For her modern and casual take on a formalwear classic, she has earned the Diskarteng Malikhain (Most Innovative Product) trophy — awarded to creative minds breathing life to fresh and unique products and services.

On top of the winners, PLDT Home Biz also honored Mommy Lou Neria Putian of skincare brand SY Glow with Diskarteng Home Biz (Mompreneur’s Choice Award). The brand awarded the special prize to the madiskarte mom, hailed for having the “most potential for success” in a voting poll among MMPH members on its Facebook community page.

Each Gawad Madiskarte awardee also took home a KalyeNegosyo Scholarship courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. KaAsenso – Jorge and Jenny Wieneke – and a trophy handcrafted by award-winning sculptor Glenn Cagandahan. Nominees, meanwhile, each won a P25,000 cash prize as consolation.

“Madiskarte Moms PH, beyond educating moms and equipping them with business tools and resources, has evolved into a support group of women, inspiring and encouraging each other as they tread through their digital adventures together. We’re nothing but proud of what MMPH has accomplished in just 17 months, and so we look forward to what more we can accomplish together in the future!” Tang shared.

“Believe me, Madiskarte Moms PH is just getting started. And Gawad Madiskarte 2022 is just the start of a bigger campaign by us here at PLDT Home Biz — all in celebration of the Filipino’s exceptional entrepreneurial spirit,” he added.

Launched in September 2020, MMPH has become a safe online space for mompreneurs seeking out resources, tools, and support to start or grow their online businesses. Now with over 104,000 members and a growing YouTube channel, the community has become a wellspring of inspiring stories of moms who embodied hard work and diskarte in making their dreams happen even beyond the pandemic.

Learn more about our Madiskarte Moms and their success stories by joining the growing community https://www.facebook.com/groups/MadiskarteMomsPH.