Coca-Cola recently launched the 5by20 campaign which aims to empower female sari-sari store (and other small business) owners and highlight their role as ambassadors of happiness in their community.

When I was teenager, there’s a small sari-sari store in our subdivision that me and my friends use as a meeting place when we have “gimik.” When someone says, “kita-kits kina Aling Flora,” we will converge to that store and sometimes hang out there with the store owner, share funny or creepy stories with each other, sky is the limit! Aling Flora is almost like our second mom.

There are lots of Sari-Sari stores and other small businesses like carinderias, internet shops and salons in our country which are owned by women. Just like Aling Flora’s Sari-Sari Store, they have cute business signs on the upper part of their establishments. But there’s more to a small business than what the sign says. “Flora’s Sari-Sari Store,” for example, is not just an ordinary store for me and my friends. It’s a meeting place, “tambayan,” or a fellowship venue if you must.

Coca-Cola knows exactly that when a woman owns a business, no matter how small, it’s not only her and her family who benefits, but also the whole community. Aling Flora is a perfect example. This is why the leading softdrink company launched the “Signs of Happiness” campaign, to empower female sari-sari store owners by implementing programs to help the small business of these women entrepreneurs take off. And their battlecry: “5by20,” which highlights their goal of empowering 5 million women micro-entrepreneurs by the year 2020. Through “5by20,” they will address the most common barriers to success Filipino women face. Coca-Cola will give them access to business skills training courses, financial services and connections with peers or mentors.

Watch the “Signs of Happiness” TV commercial below which pretty much convey the heart of the “5by20” campaign:

For more information about Coca-Cola’s “Signs of Happiness” and “5by20,” visit www.coca-cola.com.ph/en/5-by-20/.