For many overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), returning home can be bittersweet. WhileΜύthey get toΜύreturn to their families and enjoy the fruits of their labor, it can be a daunting experience due to the loss of financial stability that they have come to rely on abroad.
To aid in this reintegration, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) andΜύGCashΜύhave launched βBuy Lokal, By OFWsβ,Μύon theΜύGHubΜύfeature ofΜύGCash, a joint initiative aimed at helping OFWs transition back home by building sustainable livelihoods through entrepreneurship and digital support systems.
As part of this initiative,ΜύGCashΜύopened a trade fair featuring products from the enterprises owned by OFW-turned-entrepreneurs.
Among the OFW-owned enterprises present at the fair are Deomare Consumer Goods Retailing, Desmond Farm, Cleode Health and Beauty, Lola Puringβs Food Products, Tingtano Enterprises, Sauce On Food House, EM-AR Handicrafts Trading, and Mhira Natural Soap and Cosmetics.
βThis isΜύvery importantΜύbecause you can introduce your business more with the help ofΜύGCashΜύand DMW. You can go anywhere, and that can really help our business.Μύ
We’reΜύso grateful to be one of the participants here. We were able to really enhance our business,β Marilou Sioson, a former seawoman and owner of SauceΜύOnΜύFood House, said in an interview.
Echoing similar sentiments from fellow OFW entrepreneurs, Caroline de Ocampo, a former OFW in Taiwan and owner ofΜύCleodeΜύHealth and Beauty, also underscored howΜύGCashΜύhas simplified business operations under the initiative.
βIn all aspects, whenΜύyou’reΜύdoing business, youΜύwon’tΜύbe lost. So, thank you to DMW, and especially toΜύGCash, because of the transaction ofΜύwhatβsΜύcoming in, coming out, and things like that. YouΜύwon’tΜύneed cash anymore, and theΜύwhole processΜύis just much easier,β Ms. de Ocampo said.
Sharing a similar experience on market access challenges, another OFW entrepreneur highlighted how the initiative helps address one of the biggest hurdles faced by returning workers.
βIt’sΜύgood because they can be exposed to the markets. Especially when you come home, when you come here, one of the first questions that you willΜύencounterΜύis where you will sell. That wasΜύactually ourΜύproblem at the onset,β ChristianΜύFacun, a former OFW in Italy and owner ofΜύTingtanoΜύEnterprises.
Building on this, other OFW entrepreneurs also reflected on how their overseas experience shaped their drive to pursue business ventures beyond their life abroad.
βThere are a lot, like how to handle people. Based on my experience as an assistant chef and in handling a restaurant, I also saw how the chefs there used ingredients such as basil, and with my business, Filipinos can now buy them,β Mr.ΜύFacunΜύsaid.
Ms. Sioson also shared a similar perspective, emphasizing how her experience as an OFW helped shape her long-term goals beyond working abroad.
βIn a way, of course, being an OFW helped usΜύbecauseΜύthis is where you really need a budget for the family and for your business. But for us, our life is not just about being an OFW. We wanted to have something after this journey,β she added.
For Ms. de Ocampo, she pointed out how her overseas experience contributed to specific aspects of her business operations, particularly in packaging and product preparation.
βMy experience in Taiwan helped me,β Ms. De Ocampo said. βI usedΜύto doΜύpackaging and labelling in Taiwan. So, in my product now, even ifΜύI’mΜύnot well-versed in business, at least the packaging side helped me.β
Empowered abroad and at home
DMW National Reintegration Center for OFWs Director Andrea LuisaΜύAnolinΜύhighlighted the importanceΜύof the departmentβs partnership withΜύGCashΜύin expanding opportunities for returning workers, especially amid global and geopolitical tensions that may affect OFWs.
βThe partnership that we have withΜύGCashΜύisΜύvery importantΜύto us at DMW, because itΜύopens upΜύnew options for our OFWs who are returning to the Philippinesβ¦ ItΜύopens upΜύthe reach of our goods, products, and those manufactured by our OFWs,Μύbasically toΜύtheΜύwhole world,β Ms.ΜύAnolinΜύsaid.
The DMW representative also emphasized that reintegration goes beyond employment and includes empowering OFWs to succeed in business and life back home.
βTheir story of life will not end when they return to the Philippines,β the official said. βTheir dream will not only be possible when they are abroad, but it’s also possible when they return.β
Meanwhile, the financeΜύsuperappΜύsaid the initiative is designed to guide OFWs from overseas employment into business ownership, helping them secure long-term income upon their return.
βBuy Lokal, ByΜύOFWsΜύis a reintegration and entrepreneurship program that helps our OFWs to start and develop their own business. Especially when they go back to the Philippines, we also support locally made products,β said Julie Anne Abalos, Head of International Transfers atΜύGCash.
She added that the initiative focuses on enabling OFWs to build sustainable enterprises, with GCash providing digital tools such as payment systems and access to its marketplace platform, GHub, to expand operations and market reach.
βInΜύGCash, our role is to digitally enable OFW-owned businesses, from digital payments and financial services to a larger market reach, so they can easily operate and run their own business,β Ms. Abalos explained.
TheΜύGCashΜύexecutive mentioned that support for OFWs begins even before they return home, through remittance and financial services available overseas, and continues through reintegration programs in the Philippines.
βWhile abroad,ΜύGCashΜύsupports them through secure digital payments and remittances viaΜύGCashΜύoverseas and their everyday financial services. They also continue to support throughΜύprogrammesΜύlike Buy LokalΜύByΜύOFWs, helping them start businesses, manage their finances, and build sustainable livelihoods,β Ms. Abalos said.
The initiative shows a growing push to empower modern-day heroes by helping them build sustainable livelihoods at home. With continued support from both government and private sector partners, programs like this aim to turn returning workers into entrepreneurs who can contribute to long-term economic growth.
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