Sixteen former overseas Filipino workers have secured startup capital through a government livelihood competition designed to help reintegrated migrants build businesses at home.
The Department of Migrant Workers held the awarding ceremony for the LIKHA Award, a startup competition under its reintegration program for OFWs and their families. Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac led the event.
Each of the 16 regional finalists walked away with P100,000 in seed funding, while the top three received additional prizes based on their rankings.
A food entrepreneur from Region I claimed the grand prize of P500,000. Kristel Joy De Guzman, who previously worked in Macau, developed “Tartobongbong” — a fusion dessert combining the traditional Filipino rice cake puto bumbong with the format of a sweet tart.
The first runner-up prize of P300,000 went to Jessie Mambaguimbay Pascual of Region III, a former household service worker from Saudi Arabia whose winning entry was an oyster farming business.
Myra Deligencia Avenido of Region X, who worked as a babysitter in Jeddah, took second runner-up honors and P200,000 for her crayfish farming venture.
The LIKHA Award targets OFWs and their families seeking to establish sustainable livelihoods following their return to the Philippines.
