The Young Entreprenuer

Mr. Romualdo Blanco Jr. receives the Youth Microentrepreneur Award in the recent 17th CITI Microentrepreneurship Award
at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. With him onstage are Citi Philippines CEO Aftab Ahmed (left) and Monetary Board Member Juan de Zuñiga Jr.

"Aside from hard work and patience, you need to be street-smart" – Mr. Romualdo “Ejay” Blanco Jr.

Young Father and Delivery Boy

At a very young age of about 15 or 16, Mr. Romualdo “Ejay” Blanco worked menial job as “kargador” at the new public market in Batangas City and as a driver of a delivery tricycle for a soft drinks dealer. At 17, he got married and had their first child. At 18, his former buddy from the soft drinks dealer invited him to work with him at a “kakanin” manufacturer in Manila as delivery boy. He grabbed the said opportunity and brought his young family to Manila.

From Delivery Boy to Micro-Entrepreneur

In the year 2011, Ejay decided to go back to Batangas after his employer stopped the operations of the manufacturing of “kakanin” in Manila. He was 20 years old at the time. On their return to Batangas, Ejay tried vending fruits at one of the stalls of his sibling as a new venture for source of income but failed to achieve sufficient income for his family. He then entered into another venture: isaw-isaw and fish ball business using the savings from his employment in Manila.

In 2014, he and his wife started their dream business, the manufacturing of “kakanin” specializing in maja, puto and kutsinta. Ejay’s experience in his previous employer helped them to operate this kind of business. He named it “PK Maja’s Special” after her daughter. He improved the mixture of his products to suit the taste of Batangeños. At first, it was hard for them to sell their products to local stores as business owners perceived that their products are replacement of the store’s original items like breads and merienda items. As a strategy, Ejay offered the items on consignment basis to all the stores he is supplying. They would deliver the goods and collect the payment the following day after they are sold while delivering a new batch. He even provided them trays for the “kakanin” to be displayed at the local stores. When they saw the business’ potential for growth, they decided to focus on the “kakanin” business. Because of dedication and commitment, they were able to sustain and grow their business.

Mr. Romualdo Blanco together with his wife and his workers.

Romualdo and Bangko Kabayan

Ejay met one of the employees of Bangko Kabayan as a customer in his fish ball business. The bank employee sees him constantly selling fish balls and she offered him the Kabayan loan (individual microfinance loan). He was given the opportunity to have an additional capital for his fish ball business through the help of Bangko Kabayan. He made a perfect repayment performance and was able to save up money. He continuously renewed his loan so that he could infuse more capital to his business. On his 4th loan cycle, he started his “kakanin” business. Because of his hard work and a good record with the bank, he was able to purchase five (5) motorcycles to deliver his goods in the province. Each motorcycle delivers “kakanin” to about forty (40) to fifty (50) stores per day. At present, Ejay is already on his 16th loan cycle.

Being a trusted member of the bank with a good payment record, Ejay was selected by Bangko Kabayan to participate in 2019 Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards (CMA) which is a search for leading and unique entrepreneurs across the Philippines. He won the category Youth Microentrepreneur of the Year Awardee for the 2019.