Filipina-owned Businesses You Should Know Of

Thanks to online shopping platforms and social media, adding items to your cart has never been easier. Next time you treat yourself to some retail therapy, consider buying from proudly women-owned businesses to give them some much-needed support. There are so many different women in businesses in the Philippines you can support. From restaurants to makeup, shoes to skincare, anything you could possibly need, there’s a women-owned business you can buy from! Apart from all our partner merchants in the InLife Sheroes Digital Bazaar, here are just a few Filipina-owned businesses you should know about.

Mica Tan 

At the young age of 19, Mica Tan decided she was going to start her own business… and did it! Eight years later, she now sits as the CEO of her own private equity firm, MFT Group, which operates in nine countries and 18 cities around the globe and has assets of more than $61 million. On top of this, Mica has also won the prestigious “Most Influential Filipina Award” from the Filipina Women’s Network in 2019. Wow!

Anne Arcenas-Gonzalez

Anne Arcenas-Gonzalez leads Terry SA as president of the popular fashion and lifestyle retail distribution company. Fondly referred to as the “flip-flop queen,” she has earned the cute title for being the distributor of everyone’s favorite beach footwear brand, Havaianas, in the Philippines. Leading 300 employees with a presence in three countries, Anne obviously isn’t afraid of challenges. In fact, apart from being distributing popular foreign brands, she also owns CommonThread, a store featuring Filipino and global brands, as well as Thread 365, a t-shirt company she founded.

Nina Dizon 

Beauty afficionados will be familiar with the cult-favorite makeup brand Colourette. These multipurpose products started hitting the shelves in 2015 and have taken over the country by storm since then!

What started as a spur of the moment decision led to what is now one of the country’s biggest makeup brands. Nina’s decision to create her own company was born out of frustration. Just like many of us, she had trouble finding the right make up that will suit her needs. Nina works hard to always stick to Colourette’s roots – that they are a proud Filipina-owned brand specifically formulated for Filipinas.

Abba Napa 

Abba Napa is the co-founder of The Moment Group which owns a portfolio of some of the most famous restos and bars in country, which we’re sure you’ve heard of and tried, including Mo’ Cookies, Phát Pho, Ooma, Manam, Mecha Uma, 8 Cuts, and Bank Bar as well as being the importers of several popular chains such as Din Tai Fung. On top of handling The Moment Group, Abba also sits on the World Wide Fund for Nature Philippines’ Next Generation Council. While on the council, she has helped create the upcoming Sustainability Solutions Expo which gives importance to the latest food-related solutions and technologies.

Rissa Mananquil Trillo 

Happy Skin was co-founded in 2013 by Rissa Mananquil Trillo. It has gained massive popularity due to its fun products that focus on caring for users’ skin. Today, Happy Skin has 13 stores, almost 100 kiosks nationwide, and has partnered with multiple celebrity endorsers and brands such as Heart Evangelista, Kathryn Bernado, and Disney. Happy Skin has also won 30 beauty awards including Most Promising New Cosmetic Brand from Watsons Philippines. Now that’s impressive!