Economic Resource Center for Overseas Filipinos

ONLINE

Inquire about linking to community-based financial services and programs. Check Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

ONSITE (To be updated soon.)

Rationale for Business Services

Reintegration. Many Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) dream about investing part of their earnings or savings, in a business venture that could be their main, if not the only, source of income when they return to the Philippines after a long absence. There are also many, who while still working or living abroad, send money to the Philippines as starting capital for a small business venture that they expect would be a source of income for their dependents or relatives, who are expected to manage the business and in the process become self-reliant and less dependent on them for support.

Problems. Some surveys have shown however that a high percentage of these business ventures have failed due to the lack of planning, knowledge or discipline on the part of the OFW or their relatives in running a business. Preferences are usually in the area of public utilities such as tricycles, taxicabs or jeepneys, small neighborhood retail stores, swine and poultry raising, small scale trading, and other areas that may already be overcrowded or are already adequately serviced. This pattern may be an indication that economic conditions and lack of facilities or access to knowledge and existing service providers might have limited the choices or discouraged them in trying new areas of investment or exploring processes that may improve on traditional means or searching new markets for their products. OFWs who send money to be invested in small enterprises and run by relatives or friends remain to be "absentee investors" and are therefore unable to personally monitor or oversee their investments.

Responses/Strategies. Not all OFWs have the intention to go into business. But it has been said that their resiliency, capacity for hard work, exposure and adaptability to new ideas and technology in foreign countries, make them ideal candidates for starting a business. Hence, for those who decide to do so, or may not have any other choice, it is still imperative that they go through some kind of orientation, training or updating with present regulations and procedures. There are already several private, government banking or financial, and school-based institutions in the Philippines that offer not only the basic business training but also access to markets, business assistance, microfinance, and particularly in the case of NGOs, social and other related services that facilitate the OFW's reintegration process. These facilities must be fully utilized through: (1) public awareness campaigns and (2) introducing a system for integrating these existing facilities and linking the public, particularly OFWs to these services.

ERCOF does not intend to duplicate these resources. Instead it works to fill these gaps by providing the initial business, legal and practical orientation to OFWs on site (overseas) and online through its website, with the help of its partners and links in the Philippines, provide overseas Filipinos with the linkages to all these institutions who would provide the hands-on business training and orientation, and then monitor results, and provide other necessary support to ensure the success of the partnerships thus created.