The administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s overarching agenda is to reduce the poverty rate to nine percent of the population in the next four years from over 20 percent last year.

This means massive job opportunities for the poor through partnerships between the government and private firms.

In its report for the first half of 2023, the Philippine Statistics Authority said 25 million Filipinos could not sustain their daily intake of food and obtain other basic needs.  

Rosemarie Rafael, president of Airspeed which is a Filipino logistics firm, aims to accelerate poverty alleviation by broadening access to entrepreneurship among the low-income sector and the poorest households such as informal settlers living along railways.

Airspeed is intensifying its comprehensive program for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to help at least 2,000 of such basic businesses this year.

“The railway buildup of the government will affect more illegal settlers and result in their relocations. The government must have a livelihood program. These projects must ensure the people can earn an income somewhere else to prevent any inconvenience informal settlements can cause to railway operations,” Rafael said.

The government is working on 185 rail projects, including the North-South Commuter Railway. The railway will cover Central Luzon, the National Capital Region and CALABARZON.

Airspeed’s SME Program helps entrepreneurs improve their marketing, diversify products and deliver them to customers faster, acquire extra funds to grow their business, and avail of special service rates.

Rafael made the jump and strived for her own better future when she seized opportunities to put the logistics firm from being a passenger ticketing and reservations agent for an airline company.

“The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority can teach the poor sewing, while the local government units provide the sewing machines,” she suggested.

Through the successes of Airspeed’s customers and government-aided entrepreneurship projects, Rafael aims to inspire Filipinos that they can also experience comfortable lives.

Bridge to foreign mart

Under Airspeed’s SME Program, entrepreneurs with physical stores and those selling online can reach more customers through its Kahanga-Hanga PH website. It features products from SMEs located across the country.

“This helps Filipino entrepreneurs promote their products abroad,” Rafael said.

SME products include textiles which she said are being refined and innovated through another program.

“We have a project with the Women Business Council and other government agencies. It’s a national competition where winners are given funds from the private and the government sector,” Rafael said.

“This allows the Philippines to revive the textile industry and become the top producer of this product in Southeast Asia,” she added.

Aside from the website, Airspeed offers Pinaspeed which is an online booking and delivery platform for online sellers.

“It aims to provide a seamless and efficient delivery service for businesses of all sizes, enabling sellers to manage bookings and ensure timely customer deliveries easily,” Rafael said.

She said Airspeed is also looking to build 3,000 pick-up and drop-off stations to provide customers with cheaper costs of services.

Founded in 1985, Airspeed initially employed six people and a single van to deliver items before expanding to thousands of workers and over 100 vans.

“Recognizing that logistics goes beyond mere goods transportation, Airspeed believes that supporting stakeholders is vital in business development community enhancement, and economic advancement,” Rafael said.

“Through collaborations with institutional and government partners, Airspeed provides tailored services to meet SMEs’ unique requirements, including merchant portfolio development, business growth, product curation, and brand enhancement,” she added.