Filinvest program invites OFWs to invest in local businesses, help build nation

Unity, empowerment, and engagement are the principles behind a new campaign for overseas Filipino workers by property developer Filinvest.

Named "Republika ng Filinvestor", the campaign aims to help migrant Filipinos change their mindsets, become financially stable, and learn social responsibility.

"Filipinos abroad can do something. If empowered, (they) will be able to help out our country in the nation-building," said Tet Cudiamat-Lim, a former OFW and now a manager at Filinvest International.

Financial stability and literacy

"Mahirap yung buhay sa abroad. Whether you're a household (worker) o professional, iisa ang kwento: nangangailangan sila ng tulong, or else they wouldn't be able to come back to our country," Cudiamat said.

Terrence Lim, Cudiamat's husband and another managing director for Filinvest, said they want to engage migrant workers to "break (the) OFW cycle na mayaman ka lang hanggang malakas ang katawan mo, tapos 'pag mahina na ang katawan mo, wala ka nang income."
 
One of the initiatives that Filinvest launched in the past is the Quest Hotel and Conference Center in Cebu. Allowing OFWs of all backgrounds to invest in the hotel helped give these migrant workers a steady income outside their work.

"Kahit maid sila, meron na silang lifetime income (from a) one-time investment na monthly hulugan. After two and a half years, nagawa na yung hotel, they started to own income while paying," Lim said.

Beyond this, Middle East Regional Director Ringgo Anacan said migrant workers need to be financially literate to take control of their finances.

"Maraming instances na nakukulong sila dahil hindi nila alam ang tamang paggamit ng credit card o paglo-loan. It boils down to education," said Anacan.

Motivational speaker Francis J. Kong, who teamed up with Filinvest for the personal empowerment portion of Republika, said that a change in mindset is also needed to change an OFW family's fortune. If the family is only exposed to the benefits of an OFW's work, he said they may end up penniless.

"I would rather that you wear your aprons and gloves and have pictures taken of you holding a brush, cleaning a toilet (on social media sites) so they won't think that money comes easy- and then make them work for it," Kong said.

Balikbayans giving back to the country

Filinvest has also teamed up with social entrepreneurship institutions BAG943 and Yellow Boat of Hope Foundation for the initiative.

Dr. Anton Mari Lim, co-founder of Yellow Boat, said it was to ensure "no kid is left behind" and to entice kids to return to their communities and help them thrive.

"The actual beneficiary of (this program) are the kids. We just created a mechanism to connect us to the overseas Filipinos," said Dr. Lim.

The Yellow Boat of Hope began as an organization which acquired yellow school boats so schoolchildren in a village in Zamboanga City would no longer have to who swim to get to school.

For the Typhoon Yolanda leg of its Adopt-A-Fisherman initiative, Lim said Yellow Boat has raised enough money to give boats at least 1000 families in Yolanda-stricken areas.

Josh Mahinay, BAG943 founder, meanwhile said, "We want the Republika to be not just a movement, but a community away from the Philippines. We go from one country to another to gather Filipinos (and) reconnect them to the country and to empower them financially and personally."

BAG943 donates a bag to any of its 16 sponsored public schools for every bag purchased on their site. It has managed to donate 2000 bags since its founding in 2012.

Dr. Lim said organizations are invited to join Republika in order to make the endeavor sustainable and successful.

Republika also has partnerships with the government. The Department of Foriegn Affairs, Department of Social Welfare and Development, and Department of Education have partnered with Republika on projects related to education.

Taking advantage of the country's economic growth

Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV said the campaign will help make the country's economic growth more inclusive.

"In truth, maganda ang ekonomiya natin ngayon, but a lot of people would say—even the president says this—we have growth but it's not inclusive. Habang maganda ang ekonomiya, we have to make sure that this becomes opportunities for work and enterprise para sabay-sabay tayong uunlad,"Aquino, the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship chairman, said.

With Republika, he said, OFWs can gain financial stability and use their income to build businesses instead of merely consumption.

"Yung remittances ng ating OFWs, if it can go into puhunan for their families para makapag-negosyo, pagbalik nila dito stable ang kanilang pamilya (at) 'di na nila kailangang umalis ulit," he explained.

Legislation like the “Go Negosyo Act of 2013”, ratified Tuesday, would further help migrant workers have financial literacy and forge market linkages, helping their businesses reach a wider market.

Senate Bill No. 2046 or the “Act Promoting the Reduction of Poverty Through the Development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)" is intended to generate income and lower the unemployment rate among poor households.

Under the bill, "negosyo centers" will be established in every municipality around the Philippines. These centers will help MSME entrepreneurs register and finance their businesses.

Republika sprouted from the Typhoon Yolanda-related efforts of an investment group which raised P1 million in just one week.

The project will be active in 25 different countries, including Singapore, the United Kingdom, and Malaysia. — JDS/GMA News