Entrepreneur in The Philippines 2

Success Story of Some
Entrepreneurs in the
Philippines
Tony Tan Caktiong, Jollibee
If you thought you only loved

The Champ and Chicken Joy,
then be prepared to be
inspired by the man behind the
franchise.
Also coming from an immigrant family from
China, Tony learned the value of hard work and
dedication from his father who worked as a cook
in a Buddhist temple. Tony’s father started a
Chinese restaurant in Manila with his savings so
he can send him to college.
In 1975, Tony bought a Magnolia ice cream

parlor. However, it was not generating enough
business. After talking with his customers and
people within the neighborhood, Tony decided to
include sandwiches, fried chicken, and French
fries in the menu. In time, the restaurant found
itself packed to overflowing capacity.
By 1978, Tony had opened six more
restaurants, but the main item was no
longer ice cream. Tony then decided to
adapt the McDonald’s concept and named
his franchise after his work ethic of being
as “busy as a bee.”
Today Jollibee has grown to more than

2,500 stores in the Philippines plus
locations in the US, China, Saudi Arabia,
Vietnam, Singapore, and Brunei.
John Gokongwei Jr., JG
Holdings
His life story is a “rich-to-rags-to

riches” story. John Jr. was born in
China to the scion of one of the
wealthiest families in Cebu.
When the father died, so did the business
and the family fortune was soon gone. John
Jr. supported his family by peddling items
along the streets of Cebu by bike. Soon, he
was trading items by boat to Lucena City
and to Manila by truck. Eventually, he
started importing items from the US.
John Jr. soon realized that importing carried

too much risk and low margins. Thus, in
1957, he borrowed Php 500,000 from China
Bank and started a corn milling business
named Universal Corn Products.
By 1961, Universal started diversifying its
products and launched several popular
brands such as Blend 45. Universal Corn
Products was renamed Universal Robina
Corporation.
Today, the Gokongwei family owns several

successful and highly diversified
businesses. Among these are Robina Land
Corporation and Cebu Pacific.
Alfredo M. Yao, Zest-O
The next time you pass a

vendor peddling goods on the
street, keep in mind that he or
she can be supporting the
next Alfredo M. Yao.
When Alfredo lost his dad at age 12, his mother was left to
support him and his siblings by becoming a sidewalk
vendor. A relative was able to give financial aid, which
allowed Alfredo to reach, but not complete, college at the
Mapúa Institute of Technology.
Alfredo took several odd jobs, which included time at a

printing press. During his stay there, Alfredo learned how to
print cellophane wrappers for candies and biscuits. His
experience prompted him to start his own printing business.
His printing business was doing well. However, his discovery

of the Doy Packaging system from Europe was the turning
point of his entrepreneurial career. He tried to sell the
system to juice manufacturers, but no one was interested.
Thus, Alfredo ventured into the juice business by concocting
flavors in his kitchen.
These juices were not only delicious but also appealing to parents
as they found the light and brightly colored packs easy to include
in their children’s lunch boxes. Best of all, the packaging allowed
the juice to stay chilled longer. Zest-O was born!
Today, Zest-O controls 80% of the juice market, and it has

expanded to markets in Australia, China, New Zealand, Korea,
Singapore, US, and several countries in Europe. Alfredo’s
entrepreneurial success has revitalized the juice region in the
Philippines particularly farmers growing dalandan. The Doy packs
are also recycled by local cottage industries into handbags for
export to other countries!
The boy who once faced the harsh realities of life now become a
successful juice manufacturer. Alfredo has diversified his business
interests into airlines by acquiring Asian Spirit Airlines and
renaming it as Zest Air.
Alfredo is now literally on top of the world!

Diosdado Banatao, Computer
Chips
Hislife story exhibits perseverance,

hope, determination, and the power
of self-belief.
The son of a farmer in Cagayan,

Diosdado would walk barefoot just to
complete his high school education.
Hisresilience made him a Magna Cum
Laude graduate in electrical engineering.
His excellence in the academe paved the

way for Diosdado to become a pilot-trainee
at the Philippines Airlines or PAL, which
would eventually open doors for a design
engineer position at Boeing Co. The
opportunity brought Diosdado to the US
where he completed a master’s degree in
electrical engineering and computer science
at Stanford University.
Diosdado’s experience working with
the top technology companies led to
his design of the first single-chip 16-bit
microprocessor calculator.
By 1981, Diosdado was commissioned

by Seeq Technologies to assist the
Ethernet to find an efficient way of
linking computers. Disodado designed
the single- chip controller that provided
data-link control and the transceiver in
the first 10-bit Ethernet CMOS.
His success opened doors to build his own
company, Monstroni, in 1985 and Chips and
Technology, which made US$ 12 million in
the first quarter alone. By 1996, Diosdado
sold Chips and Technology to Intel for US$
430 million!
Throughout his success, Diosdado never

forgot his roots and Filipino heritage. He set
up the Banatao Filipino American Fund to
lend support to Filipino American students
in Northern California who aspire to become
electrical engineers.
-End-

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Success Story of Some

If you thought you only loved

In 1975, Tony bought a Magnolia ice cream

Today Jollibee has grown to more than

His life story is a “rich-to-rags-to

John Jr. soon realized that importing carried

Today, the Gokongwei family owns several

The next time you pass a

Alfredo took several odd jobs, which included time at a

His printing business was doing well. However, his discovery

Today, Zest-O controls 80% of the juice market, and it has

Alfredo is now literally on top of the world!

Hislife story exhibits perseverance,

The son of a farmer in Cagayan,

His excellence in the academe paved the

By 1981, Diosdado was commissioned

Throughout his success, Diosdado never

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