Chasing Dreams

“Hold on to your dreams, believe in yourself, and believe in the power of hard work.” This mantra served as an inspiration to a 53-year old entrepreneur in pursuing her dreams.

When she was still a child, Monette Aleno was fond of making crochet products including curtains. It is only in 2010 when she started turning her hobby into a small business, Monette Handmade Crochet, with a capital of P3,000.

Prior to this, she used to own a small carinderia (food stall) in Olongapo City. Her passion of crochet making, however, did not fade away after long years. She started making and selling crochet products like coin purses, pouches, bags, and even sandals.

In 2010, Monette also became a member of CARD Bank, Inc., which allowed her to avail financial services she used to support the growing needs of her business.

“I only had a small capital to start-up my crochet business. Since the demand is growing, I also need to look for other sources of income for the additional needs of my small business,” shared Monette.

“Thank you very much to CARD Bank for assisting us in any way possible. It is a big part of our success,” she added.

Seeing the potential of their business, CARD Bank referred Monette to CARD-Business Development Service Foundation Inc. (CARD-BDSFI) to assist them in their product development and promotion.

According to Julius Adrian R. Alip, chief executive of CARD-BDSFI, connecting local producers to their target market is one way of driving economic development and community revitalization.

After series of interventions and seminars, their crochet products were marketed to a bigger number of consumers through bazaars and Mga Likha ni Inay (MLNI), Inc.

MLNI is the marketing arm of CARD Mutually Reinforcing Institutions (CARD MRI), a group of 21 development-oriented institutions including CARD Bank and CARD-BDSFI.

At present, Monette has four helpers in manufacturing her crochet products. She also dreams to train at least one from her family to do crochet making to eventually run the business in the future.

“I only have heartfelt gratitude to CARD MRI group for its endless support to all aspiring entrepreneurs like me. They opened a lot of opportunities for our small livelihood,” she mentioned.

Monette is grateful to her business and to everybody who helped her in making it bloom. The profit she gained helped her and husband Renato provide the daily needs of their children Rose Ann, Marian, and Aljon.

“We were able to purchase some appliances and furniture sets for our apartment. We also bought a tricycle, which became our other source of income,” she shared.

Monette also acknowledges the fact that she still has a lot of effort to exert to make her products known. What’s the good thing about her? She is up for the challenge. Years from now, Monette aspires of owning a store for her quality crochet products and expand her carinderia business into a restaurant.