Noreen Beja owns a fashion clothes retail in Cagayan De Oro and the COVID-19 threat immediately displaced her business. Knowing that it would be difficult to push her clothes, she thought of using her remaining materials and her skill in sewing to make face masks made from cloth. She posted an online announcement about her product and since then she had been receiving tons of inquiries and orders. Although delivery to other towns is still a challenge, she is benefiting from orders placed by neighbors and friends who live nearby.

Jenny Busania of Quirino province is known for her mouth watering banana cakes before COVID-19 struck. When orders from retail stores began to decline, she thought of marketing her banana cake as a “food storage” idea. She has a DOST sponsored study that proves her product can stay fresh for 3 weeks when placed in refrigerators. This gave her a bright idea to sell this online with the tagline “stays fresh for 3 weeks”, and since delivery is a challenge, she would have her customers pick up their orders at home but observing safety measures so that close contact does not happen. Jenny is still busy baking her banana cake orders.

Richard Alfornon owns a car wash business in Cebu and when quarantines and lockdowns had been imposed he found his business struggled immediately due to lack of cars wishing to go out. But for car owners who have the capacity to go out but are scared to have their cars washed for fear of getting infected by equipment used, Richard found a quick solution. He found a disinfecting portable machine that he could use to show his remaining customers that they have added a new feature to ensure hygiene and disinfectant means to stop the spread of the deadly virus is in placed. “I try to cope well with this virus challenge so that my car wash business could still generate even small income. I plan also to try and offer a service of disinfecting willing homeowners using this machine.”