From Employee to Alfamart Partner

Martiniano “Degs” Valencia is a simple man with not-so-simple dreams. As a young boy, he was already honing his entrepreneurial spirit, selling fresh carabao’s milk and boiled corn in the streets of his hometown of Sta. Rita, Pampanga. By the time he reached college, Valencia was supplying processed meat products from Pampanga to various stores in Manila — and then he went on to become a bagger at a major supermarket chain while on summer vacation from school. For a time, Valencia left his retail roots behind and went into more technical work as a broadcast engineer for a major broadcasting network, and then worked as a technical controller in Dubai for ten years. His life was going well, and when his youngest child was born, he and his wife decided to move back to the Philippines for good. After resettling in the Philippines, Valencia began developing investments left and right — buying and selling second-hand cars, selling real estate, leasing stalls, and selling fruit-bearing trees and nurseries. As a wise investor and someone who wanted to take advantage of passive income, Valencia was delighted when Alfamart, the first and only Super Minimart chain in the Philippines, became his business partner and set up a branch in his hometown. “My wife and I were dreaming of having our own grocery store as our main business,” Valencia said. Construction was already on-going for a small commercial complex that they started on their land when Alfamart approached them with an offer to lease and build a store. “Alfamart then came in to fulfill our dreams,” he added. After going into business with Alfamart, Valencia said his quality of life has vastly improved. He and his family have nearly reached their financial goals in just a few years following the partnership, and he is able to spend much more time with them. “We are extremely grateful to our partners like Degs in Sta. Rita, Pampanga,” said Alfamart COO, Harvey T. Ong. “With the help of partners, we’re able to expand to more communities. Each store we open is a step towards our advocacy of promoting community development, especially in areas outside Metro Manila,” he said. Ong also mentioned that Alfamart is looking for more partners as it continues to expand. “We are always searching for opportunities to bring the Super Minimart experience to everyone in the Philippines,” Ong continued. Degs’s story is just one of the many others telling us to work hard and to grab opportunities at the right time.