Qarabao ready to click with Filipino entreps
Text and photos By Monsi A. Serrano

While Filipinos are naturally enterprising and hardworking and government support for entrepreneurs is intensifying, keeping track of everything that goes on in one’s business – big or small – can be a bane.

That’s not to say that little details and processes can be skipped; but that micromanaging to ensure reliable and efficient execution of a system in doing business can be easier.

And that’s what brought innovators to coming up with Qarabao, the entrepreneur-friendly App for start-up and existing businesses.

“Let us do the hard work” is not just a pleasantly-sounding slogan for Qarabao, it is what the new app which is now live and online and free for a 30-day trial is all about.

Qarabao Chief Executive Officer Michael Tiongson led the media launching of this business manager app at SGD Coffee Roastery in San Juan City last week and promised that it would make business easier for every Filipino entrepreneur.

“We all know the hardships that any entrepreneur faces in their daily lives, whether start up or business that has been operating for several years. There are issues they want to be addressed and would make their enterprising experience a pleasant one. So, we did our research and found out how we could be of help to our entrepreneurs by banking on technology,” he said.

Tiongson said he understands the challenges faced by start-ups and new business ventures, especially when they begin to grow their market, monitoring and efficient delivery of services and products become a tall order.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has been at the forefront of the government campaign to provide more opportunities and assist entrepreneurs in making their investments bear fruit through such programs as “Trabaho at Negosyo.”

Entrepreneurs are given seminars to learn the ropes and strictly have a reliable and efficient system in doing business. But even all that requires much effort to succeed so a big push from the Qarabao is likely to increase the chances of one’s success.

“Our micro, small and medium enterprises have a very important role in developing the economy of our country,” Tiongson said. “Given the fact that the MSME accounts for 99.6 percent of the establishments in the Philippines. We want to help them by making their enterprising journey easier and efficient. And they can be assured that Qarabao is their partner in the growth and success of their business regardless of size and volume and we are here to simplify managing their business,” he said.

What’s in a name?

At the media affair, Tiongson was asked to explain the choice of the app’s name, Qarabao. He replied: “We are proud of being a Filipino tech company.”

He added: “While we are a tech and innovation company and the product is a tech product, we don’t like to sound too ‘techy.’ We used Qarabao for a few good reasons: first, carabao works hard like us Filipinos; second, the Qarabao software will do all the hard work for our entrepreneurs, thus, allowing them to focus on the essentials; and lastly, the Qarabao is close to the heart of the Filipinos and it sounds very Filipino.”

Research as a Foundation

Qarabao COO Roy Nepomuceno told THEPHILBIZNEWS that before their company decided to launch the product, there were a lot of tweaking in the development of the app in order to provide the perfect business tool.

“Like it or not, during the development stage, so many ideas popped out in our minds and, inevitably, we got tempted to take them all,” he said. “But of course, as an engineer and experienced in the software industry, I discussed with our partners and also conducted our very own research by talking to the active entrepreneurs. We interviewed them, asked them what their concerns are; showed them the menu of Qarabao; and then considered all the gamut of their process. And Qarabao prepared to answer these issues,” said Nepomuceno.

Qarabao in action

So, what does Qarabao actually do?

“With Qarabao, all the administrative tasks are taken away from the business owner. And as owners, as you go along and as your business grows you don’t do the admin jobs. You think of strategies and implement on how you grow your business. Qarabao does that for your business. From inventory, processing of orders, and receive of payments, and shipping management to name a few,” Cookie Enriquez, Qarabao Product and Business Development Manager told to THEPHILBIZNEWS.

“We want a seamless solution to the business of our entrepreneurs. This is regardless of the size of their business or how long they have been operating. And even start-up must prepare for the inevitable — growth! You cannot start a business with so many doubts and negative thought. You prepare for that growth,” she said.

“Our entrepreneurs should veer from the fatalistic outlook of, ‘I will just out the system when it’s already big, and this is a no-no’. If you wait for the time to grow big and only then that you will ut system on the place, it’s disastrous and these experiences were expressed by the people we.spoke with in video you watched, and they have the same mentality which proved to be counter-productive in their business,” Enriquez added.

“They can try since we are giving 30 days free trial for the new subscribers to test our system and how it will help them grow their business,” Enriquez revealed.

Qarabao’s aim

“We want every entrepreneur to power their business with Qarabao across the country,” further explained.

“We want inclusive growth, and ensure that all the members of the society would take advantage of the technology which was developed for them and with them. That is the whole idea,” she said.

“In the development, it was not done with utmost caution and ensured that we address the concerns of the business owners and at the same time anticipate what they need as they go along. Having said this, they are all then feel empowered,” Enriquez added.

“The most stressful part of being an entrepreneur is when problems popped up and you are groping in the dark on what to do. This is the reason also why we choose the name Qarabao because of its trait for being stable and reliable,” Enriquez concluded.

Plowing your business with Qarabao

Tiongson told THEPHILBIZNEWS: “Being in the business is like being in the field. You work hard from sunrise to sunset and it’s no joke. Qarabao works with you as you plow, and after that, you will reap the harvest of your labor and money will flow back to you after giving all the investment you out to jumpstart your business. The only difference is, plowing in the field throughout the day is truly laborious. But plowing in your cyber field as you grow your business would not be cumbersome and taxing because you have a reliable Qarabao to do the hardwork for you.”

To know more about Qarabao and avail of the 30 days free trial, visit https://qarabao.com/