Women entrepreneurs helping each other is a beautiful thing to witness. By fostering a supportive ecosystem and prioritizing social impact, they are driving positive change on multiple fronts. These women are the inspiring mompreneurs of Madiskarte Moms (MMPH), an online community of Filipino mothers who want to learn, start, and grow their online home businesses while enjoying their home life.

At the second annual Gawad Madiskarte, which recognizes mompreneurs with creative and innovative businesses, eight women stood out for creating successful businesses that made a transformative impact not only in their own lives, but also in the communities around them.

PLDT Home first launched Gawad Madiskarte in 2022 to celebrate mompreneurs and to encourage more women to act on their dreams of becoming entrepreneurs.

The audience at the awards luncheon -- many of them also tireless and hardworking mompreneurs—was inspired to hear the winners talk about their struggles and successes, many with tears in their eyes. It was also heartwarming to hear how Madiskarte Moms PH, the tight-knit community of local mompreneurs honored by Gawad Madiskarte, was the catalyst that changed their lives for the better.

Six winners from the Start Up and Scale Up categories received Php100,000 each, three Special Award winners received Php50,000 each from PLDT Home, and a trophy by world-class sculptor Ram Mallari. Each winner also received a one-year PLDT Home Fiber subscription, a laptop from ASUS, and a one-year Canva Pro subscription.

In the Start Up category, Diskarteng Angat was awarded to Catherine K. Fabello of Cami Candles; Diskarteng Digital went to Eraiza Camille A. Ramos of Eleira’s Crochet; and Diskarteng May-Puso went to Joelle Dianne F. Venegas of Golden Pots Agriculture.

In the Scale Up category, the award for Diskarteng Angat was given to Irene D. Herrero of Jacob's Gourmet Food; Diskarteng Digital went to Rojerette May Martin-Pimentel of Moms@Work Management Consultancy Firm and DigiTalent; and Diskarteng May-Puso went to Erica Joana Angela Redrico of Produkto PH.

Gawad Madiskarte also gave special awards to three mompreneurs. Diskarteng Malikhain went to Ayn Stephanie Buyco Angeles of HERS by Godfather; Diskarteng Pasulong was awarded to Jazel T. Gallaza of Kapekoh; and Diskarteng Homebiz to Eraiza Camille A. Ramos of Eleira’s Crochet.

Actress Marjorie Barretto, one of this year’s Gawad Madiskarte judges, told the women during the awarding, “I want to be like all of you. It was so hard to judge the entries—it took me several days. I read all your stories and sineryoso ko.”

Barretto herself is an entrepreneur with her own online home and clothing brand called Everything Avery. Joining her as judges were Maxine Loyola, AVP & Head of PLDT Home Marketing Public Relations, Influencer Marketing and Brand Advocacies; entrepreneurs Jorge Wieneke and Jenny Wieneke; Janine Khazaiealiabady, owner of Massage MNL; Donna Nievera-Conda, president and co-CEO of Stratworks, Inc.; and Maisie Littaua, Head of Growth for Canva Philippines.

“Big dreams often start with small beginnings, and we have mompreneurs to prove that. They have shown us that motherhood is not an obstacle but the inspiration to do things better at work and in life,” PLDT Home Senior Manager Linette Garcia-Perez said after the awards.

Mompreneurs who are already working hard or still aspiring can get the support they need from fellow moms by joining the Madiskarte Moms PH group on Facebook and subscribing to its YouTube channel.