WOMEN entrepreneurs were urged to take up space and venture into leadership positions during the Go Negosyo Women’s Summit held in Parañaque City on Saturday.
The summit highlighted the increasing number of women-owned businesses, particularly in the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) sector, and underscored the need to empower more women to lead.
As the Philippines chairs this year’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), Nora Terrado, senior adviser for Women, Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Business Advisory Council, encouraged women to take more leadership positions that are crucial in nation-building.
“We need to prove to the world that we are women leaders. The role of the Philippines during this chairship, especially for women, is to lead in Asean,” she said during the panel discussion.
Trade and Industry Secretary Cristina Roque said women are not just participants in the economy but key drivers of it.
“Let’s not discount what a woman can do. Because for a woman, once you push them to the wall, or once you get into a crisis, all of a sudden, all these miracles happen. A lot of big businesses have been built from small businesses, and a lot of communities have been helped because of women-led businesses. And because it’s true, women are strong, smart and resourceful. We’re not just a part of the economy. We are the ones in charge of it,” said Roque.
In 2025, Roque said women own about 66 percent of MSMEs in the country and account for 62 percent of new business registrations. She said these numbers show the courage, resilience and determination of women to uplift their communities
Roque urged women entrepreneurs that, amid the crisis where prices of goods are increasing, there are opportunities they can take advantage of to grow.
“In every crisis, not everyone loses; a lot of people also win in crisis, so let’s look for those opportunities,” she said.
Meanwhile, broadcast journalist and United Nations Women’s National Goodwill Ambassador Karen Davila explained why women make effective leaders, noting their responsiveness in crises.
She stressed the importance of empowering women at the grassroots level, pointing out that they are often the most affected by poverty.
“Many women who are at the grassroots level get left behind. As we say in UN Women, ‘poverty is the face of the she.’ So we have to pay attention to the women in the grassroots level,” she explained.
To address this, she encouraged women to support and uplift each other.
“In times of crisis like this. What can we do? I always give this challenge to women: Are you mentoring other women? Are you helping another woman?” she said.
During the event, Go Negosyo also awarded the 2026 Inspiring Filipina Entrepreneurs Awards to Filipina entrepreneurs for their contributions to economic development and job creation in their own communities.
