The Local Entrepreneurs of the Philipines
Edgar Sia II - Founder of Mang Inasal
Edgar Sia II engaged in business at twenty years of age. He opened the first branch in December 2003 at the Robinson's Mall Carpark-Iloilo. By 2009, Mang Inasal opened one hundred stores.In 2003, he opened Mang Inasal. The restaurant was instantly successful that it spread throughout most of the Visayas, to Mindanao and then Metro Manila. It applied for franchise a couple of years later.
Maximo Gimenez - Founder of Max's Restaurant
In 1945, after World War II, American troops stationed in Quezon City became friends with Maximo Gimenez, a teacher who had graduated from Stanford University. Some soldiers came to his nearby house for a drink or two, until they insisted that they pay for their drinks.Gimenez decided to open a café which served chicken, steak, and drinks. He was joined by his wife Mercedes, sister-in-law Felipa, his niece Ruby who managed the kitchen, and her husband Claro. Ruby's fried chicken proved popular with G.I.s. and locals also began patronising the establishment.Encouraged by her mother to expand the menu and serve more Filipino food, Ruby set up the Baclaran branch along Roxas Boulevard in Parañaque. They decided to name the restaurant "Max's" after Maximo.Max's Restaurant bills itself as "The house that fried chicken built". In 1998 it started franchising.
Henry Sy, Sr. - Founder of SM Malls
Henry Sy, Sr. is a Chinese Filipino businessman and the founder and chairman of SM Prime Holdings, the largest retailer and shopping mall operator in the Philippines. He earned his Associate of Arts degree in Commercial Studies at Far Eastern University in 1950. Acknowledged as the country’s "Retail King," he has come a long way from the modest shoe store he set up in Quiapo in 1946, to become Asia's biggest shopping mall operator with over 30 malls throughout the Philippines. He is the Philippines' richest man, gaining 1.4 billion dollars in 2007, amid the global financial crisis. The huge gain was due to his holding company, SM Investments Corp., which has interests in Banco de Oro Universal Bank, inter alia. Forbes magazine's 2008 list of 40 wealthiest Filipinos, revealed the Sy family's net worth was 3.1 billion dollars.