Isagani de Ocampo, owner and chocolatier of Kakaw Galleon, has been inspired by the movie Forrest Gump’s line “Life is like a box of chocolates.” He began his career as a seafarer in 2009 and later trained as a pastry chef aboard cruise ships. He also trained under Jean-Philippe Maury’s chocolate shop. However, the pandemic in 2020 led Isagani to create his chocolate formula and dream of launching his chocolate line in the Philippines.
“It was hard at first because our taste for chocolate is quite different. Filipinos prefer the “stateside” chocolate. So, I thought of making a local version of chocolate that tastes like it’s imported,” he shared. “I wanted to bring the technology and the taste that I learned from abroad closer to chocolate lovers here,” he added.
But starting the business in a pandemic took work. For one, he had to rent a separate place for his chocolate factory, which was impossible during the lockdown. De Ocampo had to put his business on hold for a year before launching his first product in November of 2021.
“It became a hit, and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) heard about it. They approached me and offered me help. I held my first bazaar with them in January of the next year, and I introduced my product as a local ‘imported’ chocolate. And the rest is history,” he recalled.
To further scale his business, Isagani saw the value of upskilling and learning to employ digital tools to boost micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) like Kakaw Galleon. When the invitation to attend the eBizNovation program under the livelihood advocacy of PLDT and Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) came, he did not hesitate to join.
“I’m a non-tech savvy person. Technology and I don’t get along. But I saw the invite to the eBizNovation workshop of DTI PLDT and Smart, so I attended the event. Then, when I returned home, I told my wife about it, and she volunteered to implement it,” de Ocampo said.
The eBizNovation program is a digital upskilling-to-e-commerce program that aims to provide local entrepreneurs, cooperatives, and MSMEs like Kakaw Galleon with the right digital tools to help them grow their businesses online.
With government partners like the DTI, LGUs, local chambers of commerce, and e-commerce platforms like TikTok Shop, eBizNovation trains local business owners like Isagani on maximizing digital commerce to boost their livelihood.
“The skills and knowledge we gained from PLDT and Smart’s eBizNovation training have helped us build our digital platforms and online payment system and ultimately helped boost our online presence and sales. We are thankful for this opportunity,” the chocolatier shared.
PLDT and Smart are committed to uplifting the lives of Filipinos through livelihood and entrepreneurship opportunities made possible by technology. These initiatives also support the UN SDGs #1, No Poverty, and #8, Decent Work and Economic Growth.
