Empowered for Change: The Rise of Women Entrepreneurs Driving Meaningful Impact

The Business Manual features three inspiring women entrepreneurs who have built their own companies and are defining their own success.  

According to a report by the Philippine News Agency, before the pandemic, one in every four micro and small enterprises was owned by a woman, showing a notable rise in the number of women entrepreneurs in the country today. Despite remaining challenges such as societal norms, gender biases, and limited access to finance, women entrepreneurs are rising in number and becoming a bigger contributor to the economy.

This women’s month, The Business Manual honors these women by featuring three inspiring women founders who have overcome obstacles, carved their own paths, and made their way to the top.

Alice Eduardo, Sta. Elena Development Corporation

Alice Eduardo had always been entrepreneurial even as a little girl. The eldest of four siblings from a well-to-do family from Nueva Eciija, she was helping out in the family’s businesses (rice milling and trading, garments export, and bowling center) as early as 12 years old.

Aside from working in their office and stores during school breaks, she would also concoct her own small businesses, such as selling ice cream and cigarettes in their bowling center to earn her own money.

In college, she aspired to study engineering, but her parents discouraged her, believing it was a career path meant only for men. Instead, she took up Business Management, and ended up helping in the family business. However, her love for construction and engineering remained.

One day, Concrete Aggregates, the construction company to which they were supplying rice subsidies for their employees, asked if she would be interested in providing steel splices for a major construction project. Despite not having any previous experience in the industry, Eduardo accepted the opportunity and successfully delivered. This reignited her interest in engineering and construction and gave birth to Sta. Elena Construction and Development Corporation in the mid-90s.

But success did not come without its share of challenges. In the late 90s, Eduardo faced the Asian financial crisis. Because most of her loans were in dollars, the peso’s depreciation at that time put the company in debt. Eduardo was pressured to sell her equipment at a loss to pay off debts and close down the business.

Eduardo’s calm and gentle exterior belied her tough nature. During the 1997 Asian financial crisis, instead of giving up and closing her business, she negotiated a loan restructuring with US Exim Bank. She eventually, successfully paid off the loan, and earned the industry’s trust and confidence in the process.

When the crisis was over, Sta. Elena Development Corporation was the only company equipped to lead the foundation work for one of the largest malls in the world— the SM Mall of Asia. This led to the opportunity to build many other SM Malls, along with other prominent developments such as the Solaire Resorts and Casino and City of Dreams Manila, to name a few.

Nina Ellaine Dizon, Colourette Cosmetics

Dizon’s entrepreneurial journey began out of necessity. She recalled how, while in college, her mother pulled her aside one day and told her that her father could no longer afford to continue funding her education. Wanting to finish her degree, Dizon explored different ways to support herself. She resorted to buying and selling products until she found her niche in diet pills.

She included skin-whitening soaps as complimentary gifts. However, the soaps soon gained more popularity than the diet pills, eventually becoming her primary product. As demand continued to grow, Dizon decided to offer her own soap brand called Fairness and Flawless in 2013, at the young age of 20 years old.

Finally, school tuition was no longer a concern for the successful entrepreneur, who could now even afford to buy her own SUV. However, the pressure from both school and her growing business became overwhelming, prompting Dizon to drop out of school and dedicate herself to her business full-time

Ever the restless soul, Dizon wanted to expand her business to offer lipsticks. The concept expanded into color tints that can be used in multiple ways—for the cheeks, lips, and eyes. The product became a big hit and paved the way for the creation of Colourette in 2015.

As the cosmetics brand grew rapidly and expanded its product offerings, she decided to close Fairness and Flawless to focus on Colourette full time.

Dizon shared that what worked for her was her openness to engaging with her customers, turning her brand into a platform to advocate the values and beliefs that she upholds, such as diversity and inclusivity.

As she grew with her brand, her values also evolved. While she used to sell diet pills, she later started to promote body positivity and established her own swimsuit line called Every Body, which offers bigger sizes for women.  Moreover, Colourette is known to offer products that cater specifically to the Filipina, morena complexion—a complete turnaround from the skin whitening soaps she originally produced.

Her openness and honesty in sharing these insights only deepened her connection with her loyal customer base, who not only valued her products but also the principles they represented.

Today, Dizon is known as a vocal advocate for social justice, women’s rights, and consumer transparency, reinforcing the idea that brands should stand for more than just profit.

In 2022, Colourette scored another victory when it received seed funding from Foxmont Capital Partners, followed by another round in 2024, raising a total of $2 million dollars.

Dizon was also able to fulfill her dream of finishing school two years ago, when she graduated with a degree in Business Management from Lyceum University of the Philippines.

Zarah Juan

For many years, Zarah Juan lived her dream life as a flight attendant— traveling the world, earning in dollars, and enjoying countless benefits. But family life compelled her to settle down and change her course.

Having a passion for the environment and sustainability, she decided to develop eco bags in 2007. Competition from China pushed her to make her product more marketable. She set up her own manufacturing facility to bring down costs and produce items in bulk. From merely offering eco bags, she expanded her line to include school bags, sports bags, and corporate giveaways.

However, Juan was dissatisfied with the outcome. What was meant to be an eco-friendly business had turned into yet another mass producer contributing to pollution. In an interview on the SoChal podcast, Juan revealed that this realization began to weigh on her more and more.

While struggling with this dilemma, she was also mentoring communities all over the Philippines under Go Negosyo. To encourage her students, she would commission the weavers and artisans to make products for her personal use. In the process, she ended up hoarding too many products. One day her husband convinced her to start selling the products to others in order to declutter and facilitate a bigger market for the communities. This made Juan realize that she could pivot her business and shift from mass-produced bags, to beautiful, unique, and handcrafted works of art.

As a result, Zarah Juan now creates stylish and culturally significant products that showcase the skills and talents of weavers and artisans from all over the Philippines.

In Business For a Reason

These journeys of resilience, innovation, and growth demonstrate how a strong sense of purpose can lead to meaningful impact that extends beyond just profit.