SMALL and medium enterprises (SMEs) continue to offer bright financial prospects to the national economy. The popularity of SMEs owes much to the success attained by local entrepreneurs. Once such entrepreneur who has made it big-from a struggling vegetable vendor to a renowned trade and event organizer-is Henry G. Babiera, credited for his relentless effort to turn a high-end shopping center, the Greenhills Shopping Complex, into what is now being regarded as the "Divisoria of San Juan."

Babiera has come a long way. Born of impoverished parents in Cotabato where as a young boy he used to peddle vegetables, going from house to house using a dilapidated kariton, to help in his family's daily needs, he recalls with amusement that his stuff was "remnants of fresh, neatly bundled veggies that I often asked from vendors. Yung mga pinagtapyasan, halos itatapon na lang. Isa-isa ko silang nililinis at inilalako." When the family transferred to Davao to seek greener pastures, he continued with the same occupation, but without forgetting his studies. Poverty and hunger hardened his resolve to someday bring comfort to his parents and nine siblings.

In 1986, having experienced loneliness as a seaman, he resigned to put up his own group, the Prime Asia Trade Planners and Convention Organizers, and readily offered the flea market concept to the management of the Greenhills Shopping Complex who, sensing a good business prospect, gave him the go-ahead right away. The Greenhills Shopping Complex has grown-from 10 stalls in 1986 to more than a thousand today, selling cheaper but quality items than the ones found in boutiques or department stores. Rich or poor, young and old, flock to the easily accessible complex to get a good bargain. As a mode of brisk selling, flea market has finally caught on in the country. Kiosks of all forms-makeshift, stall-type, side by side tables-cater to customers who prefer to haggle for quality items.

Another big challenge faces Babiera. Greenhills Shopping Center in partnership with the Las Islas Trade Consumer Show Organizer with Babiera as its chief executive officer launched the premier shopping destination in the country, Tiendesitas en Frontera Verde (small villages in a green frontier) along C-5 near the corner of Ortigas Avenue in Pasig. The 18-hectare land will later bring the recognition of the Filipino-made products in the world market. Small entrepreneurs from 18 regions can now invest their own businesses here. At an affordable rental fee compared to malls, these Filipino artisans display their craftsmanship and creative ideas. There will be more jobs for Filipinos that would capitalize the macro industry as a way of recovering from the economic decline. Almost 1,500 stalls will soon operate to build a strong foundation for more than 1,000 families in hand.

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