LIKE millions of her countrymen in search of a better life, young Rabia Mangumpig of Cotabato City in Mindanao knew that working overseas was her only option. But while many overseas Filipino workers would opt to spend their most productive years under foreign employment abroad, even settling in another land for good, Rabia had other ideas.
Rabia Mangumpig (center) was awarded by Ateneo de Manila University’s Dr. Darwin Yu and Microfinance Council of the Philippines chair Mila Mercado-Bunker.
After six years as a seamstress and master cutter in Saudi Arabia, Rabia felt she had saved a little to come home for good in 2002 and fulfill a childhood dream: to open her own Muslim bridal dress shop. “Nung dalaga ako gusto ko na pong ganitong klase ng negosyo [Even when I was still single I already wanted to put up this kind of business],” says the now 40-year-old mother of three.
With self-confidence as her biggest capital, Rabia immediately set up shop in their modest home, outfitting it with a sewing machine and some fabrics. She specialized in Muslim wedding attire and related regalia, including bedsheets, pillowcases, and canopies. These she accented with ina ul — a Maguindanaoan fabric handwoven from bamboo thread — and intricate traditional beadwork, with her husband, Rosano, as her lone assistant.
For more than two years she worked from home, but her customers were unhappy with the arrangement. “Hirap silang puntahan ang bahay namin dahil hindi puedeng daanan ng service nila [They found it difficult to reach our house because they could not use their service vehicles to come here],” Rabia explains.
Rabia flanked by (from left) Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ Ed Jimenez, Deputy Governor Nestor Espenilla and Rochelle Tomas.
In 2005, she took a bold step. Possessing just two sewing machines, one for zigzag and the other for edging work, Rabia rented a place in a commercial area downtown that was dominated by karinderia or food stalls. “Ako lang ang naiba [My business was unlike the rest],” she recalls.
But soon she was having problems as the smoke from the food stalls seeped into her shop, covering her fabrics with soot. Luckily, after several months, she was offered a place to rent in a building near her shop, and she grabbed the opportunity.
In 2008, Rabia further invested in her business by taking out a P4,000 loan from the CCT Savings and Credit Cooperative, a subsidiary of the Center for Community Transformation Group of Ministries, a Christian nonprofit organization that provides financial assistance to low-income families. Since then, the microfinance institution has been extending Rabia bigger loans since she has shown her capacity to pay on time.
Today, Rabia’s shop still occupies the same space. But the changes over the past eight years have been amazing. From a two-man team, the business has expanded to include six staff and boasts total assets worth P2.9 million. Gross annual sales reach about P1.8 million, with annual net earnings amounting to about P360,000, or P30,000 a month.
The couple have acquired their own delivery vehicle, and their children are studying in private schools. Rabia’s employees have not been left out either. Besides providing them their wages, she also acts as their co-maker in borrowing seed money for their own microenterprises, with her as their client.
Rabia at work at her dress shop in Cotabato City.
Her entrepreneurial skills and enterprising spirit, as well as her efforts to preserve the rich Muslim heritage, were recognized at the Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards held in December 2012, where Rabia was feted as the Regional winner for Mindanao.
Launched in 2002, the annual Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards aims to raise public awareness of microfinance. It recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs with assets of P3 million or less who have achieved significant growth based on their employment and sales generation, and have contributed to community development. Funded by Citi Foundation, this nationwide search is a partnership among the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Citi Philippines, and the Microfinance Council of the Philippines, Inc.
Rabia, however, is not one to stay content with her achievements, no matter how significant. Lately, she has expanded her line to offer more comprehensive wedding packages.
For one, she has tapped the baking skills of one of her staff to provide wedding cakes to interested clients. For another, she has encouraged her husband to put up a furniture shop catering to the needs of new couples for their start-up home: matrimonial beds, cabinets, plate holders, and more.
Asked what she thinks is the reason her client base continues to grow, the amiable seamstress says she is content with a small profit. “Ang presyo ko hindi sobra. Kung may konti, salamat [I don’t charge a lot. If I gain a little, then I am grateful].”
This way, she says, not only does she get repeat customers who are happy with the quality work she gives, “pagbalik nila, may dala pang ibang customers [when they come back, they even bring new customers].”
More important, she collaborates closely with them to create customized designs. “Ang gusto nila ibinibigay ko [I comply with what they want],” she says, but adds that she diplomatically gives suggestions that improve on their original ideas.
To those interested in putting up their own microenterprise, Rabia only has encouraging words: “Huwag kayong mag-alanganin dahil pag napasukan ninyo yung negosyo tuluy-tuloy na yan [Don’t hesitate because once you get started, the going gets easier].”
(From Business World Online)