by Eric Montelibano / First published on BusinessMirror May 22, 2025
FOR many Filipinos, the recent elections have turned a new chapter for the country. For some, there is renewed hope that things will be better. For others, it may remain the same. Amid everyday life, dreams remain a constant.
I came across research conducted by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), which was shared early March at the “Asian Banking & Finance and Insurance Asia Summit” by BCG Principal Sitti Reyes. It was titled “The Filipino Dream.” I want to share some excerpts from BCG’s comprehensive survey.
There was consensus around not one, but two dreams: achieving financial security to absorb health scares and starting a business. When participants were asked to rank their top dreams from a choice of 15 propositions, 58 percent of respondents ranked health security and 56 percent ranked entrepreneurship in their top four. Rounding out the list were having a large savings fund at 51 percent and moving into their dream home at 44 percent.
The paper revealed that in a 2022 survey run across multiple markets in Southeast Asia, two-thirds of Filipino consumers expected to prioritize their health and well-being when making purchases. This was the highest score across Southeast Asia and pointed to the beginnings of a broader trend. However, they found it alarming that despite this increased focus, only 46 percent of Filipinos feel prepared for a financial crisis.
Filipinos’ shared dream: Starting a business
WHILE the Covid-19 pandemic changed Filipinos’ health perceptions, it also changed the dynamics of entrepreneurship. According to a 2022 survey of 500 Filipinos by Manulife, 41 percent had established a business during the pandemic, and 50 percent said they planned to continue the business even afterwards. On the patronage side, 65 percent said they started buying from small and micro businesses during the pandemic, and 51 percent planned to continue with this post-pandemic. Data from the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) reflects this trend.
Between 2016 and 2019, new business registrations grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8 percent. Between 2019 and 2023, it doubled to 16 percent, with over 984,000 new businesses being registered during the pandemic.
The vast majority of these were very simple, traditional businesses—at least 444,000 were retail businesses, with the majority being sari-sari stores, and a little over 115,000 were food and beverage (F&B) stores, like karinderyas. Filipinos are not trying to create the next Facebook—they are simply trying to sell a few extra items to build some additional financial stability. Interestingly, there is some truth behind the dream. In the survey, they found that business owners were not significantly wealthier than their peers, but they were more optimistic and felt more empowered by their education and health, compared to Filipinos who were either employed or freelancing.
We hope that the future can bring them closer to their dreams.
For more information, visit www.bmap.org.ph or https://facebook.com/BankMarketingAssociationPH.
Eric Montelibano is a Consultant of Integrated Marketing and Communications at CSBank (Citystate Savings Bank) and the President of the Bank Marketing Association of the Philippines. He can be reached at erichmontelibano@gmail.com. The writer’s views and his written piece do not necessarily reflect those of the BusinessMirror and BMAP.