9 Filipinos Receive ASEAN Women Entrepreneur Award in Thailand

There’s no shortage of Filipino ingenuity, and the world knows this well.

One of our latest achievements? Making it big at the 4th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Women Entrepreneur Network (AWEN) awarding ceremony.

On May 10, nine distinguished Filipino women were recognized as some of the region’s most outstanding entrepreneurs. The awarding ceremony took place in Bangkok.

The awardees included Cherrie Atilano of AGREA, Natividad Cheng of Uratex, Imelda Ahalul-Dagus of Dennis Coffee Garden, Maria Montserrat Iturralde-Hamlin of Team Asia, Octavia Hizon of Hizon’s Restaurant & Catering Services, Jeannie Javelosa of Great Women Philippines and ECHOstore, Edilee Omoyon of Milea Organics, Olive Puentespina of Malagos Cheese, and Carlota Manalo-Tan of Wendy’s Philippines. They joined other winners from Myanmar, Cambodia, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Singapore.

ASEAN Women Entrepreneur Awards (AWEN) 2018 Awardees from the Philippines @greatwomenasean #greatwomennetwork

A post shared by GREAT WOMEN (@greatwomenasean) on May 10, 2018 at 2:30am PDT

These women were chosen by AWEN to highlight the impact they have made in society “through their commitment, vision, and leadership, and through gender-sensitive and fair labor practices for women.” The organization believes that these Filipino awardees have shown exemplary promise in their business practices, as some of them have also been lauded by organizations like Go Negosyo, ASIA CEO, and the Philippine Retailers Association. The nine women represented the country during the awards ceremony.

AWEN, a platform created to connect businesswomen in the region, has always supported women empowerment and strived for gender equality through various efforts. The ASEAN body has dubbed AWEN the official “voice of women for policy-making in economic empowerment and social issues” in the Southeast Asian region. This year, the Philippines turned over the chairship to Thailand, as the member states rotate in roles.