The Hapinoy Store Program focuses on the sari-sari stores in the Philippines (sari-sari is the Filipino word for “many or various kinds”), small neighborhood convenience stores or retail-based outlets that sell various things, mostly basic commodities. These kinds of stores are almost always located within or as an extension of the storeowner’s home. With about 700,000 stores in the country, sari-sari stores make up 30 to 40% of total retail sales in the Philippines.

Microventures Incorporated

Hapinoy is managed by MicroVentures Incorporated (MVI). MVI aspires to be the leading partners of micro entrepreneurs in the Philippines. In so doing, MVI leverages micro financing as a powerful tool to empower socially and economically challenged families.

In 2007, MicroVentures Incorporated launched the Hapinoy Store Program with microfinance borrowers in mind. Upon realizing that 15 to 20% of microfinance borrowers use the capital to put up stores or expand their inventory, the Hapinoy Store Program first focused on aggregating all these sari-sari store owners for bulk product discounts.

The Program

The Program starts with the infusion of capital (through the resources of the microfinance institution program partner) to and conversion of an existing sari-sari store in a specific town to a Lead Store or in Hapinoy terms, a Community Store. The Community Store is set-up to be able to service 100 to 120 smaller stores on average. The Community Store in addition becomes the point of entry of the primary benefits of the program:

Cheaper access to goods. The Hapinoy Store Program is able to maximize lower acquisition costs since it operates as an aggregate account in terms of supply.

Training. The training program aims to cover both personal growth and business training.

Support. The program’s field operations team-- called the Store Doctors-- help diagnose and customize each store’s Path to Prosperity (more on this later). The Store Doctor’s weekly visit allows the
The benefits are then passed on to the smaller stores the Community Store services.

All of Hapinoy’s Community Stores are owned by female/women micro entrepreneurs whom we fondly call our Nanays as Nanay is the Filipino word for “mother”. The program then puts Nanay on the Path to Prosperity, focusing on Nanay’s growth in her business and personality.

Today, Hapinoy has evolved into a full-service micro entrepreneur enhancement program: a network of micro, small, medium and large enterprises where Hapinoy Community Stores and sari-sari stores serve as the hubs for goods and services that are coursed through the program and offered to its Base of the Pyramid target.

Hapinoy is now incorporating the following into the Store Program:

The Kahanapbuhay Program: Filipino for livelihood, the Kahanapbuhay Program will focus on helping local micro producers brand and package their goods and sell them through the network of Hapinoy Community Stores.