Top 3 Financially Empowered Women in PH

March of every year is officially declared as National Women's Month. Here in Kuripot Journal, we celebrate the contributions of all empowered women in the country. 

For this article, we are featuring the top 3 financially empowered women in the Philippines and how they proved to the world that they too can excel in business.

Angeline Tham

 

Did you know that the face behind Angkas, the motorcycle ride-sharing app that saved us multiple times against the pre-pandemic Metro Manila traffic, is a woman?

CEO Angeline Tham, a Manila-based Singaporean entrepreneur, came up with the idea after personally experiencing the traffic problem in our capital. While it was indeed a good solution, she had to face multiple hurdles to make Angkas the transportation brand that we all love today. There was a point wherein their operations were suspended. Tham was even called "persona non grata" by a Filipino senator. Still, she managed to overcome these problems and made Angkas a household name today.

"Many people think that entrepreneurs are great risk-takers. While that is true, do not take risks for the sake of it. Take calculated risks. Plan, test, fail, and iterate. Failure is part of entrepreneurship and overcoming it will make you and your business more resilient." - Angeline Tham

Socorro Ramos

 

The Philippines' biggest book chain, National Bookstore (NBS), has a Nanay that took care of the business to a retail giant today. Socorro Ramos, the founding matriarch of NBS, started the business with her late husband Jose Ramos. They both worked in a bookstore where their love story also started. With good management skills, they bought the bookstore where they were working and renamed it to National Bookstore.

After World War II, they had to rebuild NBS from scratch. Her determination to keep the business rolling paid up when she started producing greeting cards in the 1950s - an entirely new concept in the Philippines back then. This led to a Philippine franchise of Hallmark cards. NBS was also able to acquire licenses from international publishers.

"Whenever I want something, I really work hard to get it. There’s no such thing as suwerte." - Socorro Ramos

Heart Evangelista

Dubbed as the Queen of Creative Collaborations, Heart Evangelista came from a wealthy clan. Her family owns the Barrio Fiesta restaurant chain. However, she took a different path and entered showbiz at a young age. 

While maintaining her showbiz status by taking quality projects one at a time, her love for art did not just end in acting, hosting, and singing. She eventually became an accomplished painter with sold-out exhibitions in Ayala Museum and Galerie Joaquin. 

"If you want something, wait and save up for it. Don’t buy your second option because you’ll always get your first option! You’ll just spend more anyway if you get two bags instead of one." - Heart Evangelista

These women had their fair share of financial struggles yet they were able to move on and face the world with a renewed energy. 

CEO Angeline, Nanay Socorro, and Queen Heart may have come from different backgrounds and faced varying challenges in their lives but they proved to be champions in their respective domains. The success of their businesses and the accumulation of their wealth all came from their passion.