Marivic

Marivic is a 40 year old mother of three who has been separated from her husband for many years. Their eldest son and daughter now attend college, while their youngest is still in high school. Marivic now has a live-in partner, who works in a private company. Together, they run a restaurant business to support the education of Marivic's children. The whole family now resides in the province of Cebu.

Marivic has been operating her restaurant business for the last 18 years. She employs two helpers: a cook and an all-round helper who is responsible for tasks such as washing, cleaning, and tending to customers. Marivic pays a monthly salary of 15,000 pesos (£213) to the cook and 3,500 pesos (£50) to the all-around helper. The restaurant is open daily, with Marivic overseeing the business during the day and her partner managing the night shift. The restaurant yields average daytime sales ranging from 4,000 pesos (£57) to 5,000 pesos (£71), while the night shift sees sales increase to between 6,000 pesos (£85) and 8,000 pesos (£114). The evening crowd consisting mostly of people on outings in the area. The restaurant offers around 30 different dishes daily, including pork, chicken, beef, fish, and vegetable options. Additionally, during the evenings, she also offers noodles, pancit canton, hot coffee, and cooked eggs to meet customer demand. She also ensures a good supply of soft drinks and mineral water. Her restaurant stall has a monthly rental cost of 15,000 pesos (£213). Marivic is a hard-working mother who takes delight in having regular, loyal customers for her business which helps pay school fees as well as meeting household expenses. Marivic became a member of Lamac-MPC, our local development partner in the Philippines, in 2023 and successfully repaid her first loan. This current loan will be used to purchase additional stocks of cooking ingredients and other sellable products; this will enhance her range of products and increase profitability.