Financial firms support OFW beneficiaries by giving away dream businesses

Rosalyn Mendiola, a 20-year-old Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) in Canada, couldn’t believe that a simple act of kindness went a long way and help improve her aunt’s life. After sending funds through WorldRemit to her aunt’s BDO Kabayan Savings account, Rosalyn was selected as a lucky winner of a rice retail business franchise from Grainsmart.

The “Remit-2-win” promotion by WorldRemit and BDO Remit saw two lucky winners receive Php250,000 worth of rice retail business franchise.

“I was really overwhelmed. I have been sending money via WorldRemit for a long time. When I learned that I can transfer directly to a BDO Kabayan Savings, I sent the remittance straight away to my tita. She was able to quickly and conveniently access the money,” shared Rosalyn.

Rosalyn’s tita, Edith, who received the remittance and selected as the first winner of the pangkabuhayan package said: “I feel very happy that I won the rice retail business. It is what my sister and I have been dreaming to have for a long time. We are so grateful to WorldRemit, BDO Remit and Grainsmart because this is a big help for us especially during these tough times.”

Joshebern “Joshie” Bonnevie was equally amazed by being selected as the second winner of the pangkabuhayan package.

“I cannot express my happiness. I used to organize events but due to pandemic lockdowns, I lost my only source of income. The pangkabuhayan package given by BDO Remit and WorldRemit will definitely help me and my family [to recover],” shared Joshie.

Benefits of BDO Kabayan Savings

Genie T. Gloria, senior vice president and head of BDO Remit, described BDO Kabayan Savings as the key to many opportunities for both the OFWs and the beneficiaries, among which is access to BDO Unibank’s various products and services.

“BDO Kabayan Savings can help OFWs build good credit history that will enable them to apply for a car loan, home loan or a business loan in the Philippines,” she said.

In terms of access to remittance or cash withdrawals, BDO has a solution called Cash Agad to help communities in the provinces and far-off islands without banks or ATMS. BDO has partnered with over 10,000 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) like sari-sari stores and hardware stores to be its Cash Agad partner agents.

All partner stores have point-of-sale (POS) machines where BDO Kabayan Savings account holders can withdraw remittance using their BDO Kabayan ATM cards. In addition, owners of other locally-issued ATM cards can also withdraw cash from any Cash Agad partner agents.

With Cash Agad, traveling to a far off town is no longer necessary to withdraw money. At the same time, it will encourage BDO Kabayan Savings account holders to withdraw only the amount they need, enabling them to save and grow their savings.

Opportunities amid the challenges

Even with the challenges of the pandemic, WorldRemit is helping OFWs stay connected and support friends and loved ones back home.

“Through our partnership with BDO Remit and Grainsmart, we are able to help OFWs and their beneficiaries on the journey towards an improved quality of life brought by financial stability,” said Earl Melivo, WorldRemit country director.

WorldRemit has been a partner of BDO Remit since 2014.

Business training for promo winners included

The Pangkabuhayan Package comes with additional perks, said Grainsmart, the country’s largest rice retailer and franchisor with around 1,000 branches nationwide.

“Product and marketing training is part of the support that we provide to the winners. We’ll provide guidance to them to ensure they are able to manage business operations, and ensure growth and sustainability in their business,” noted Benjamin Batac, founder and CEO of Grainsmart.