The Aboitiz Foundation, Inc., through Pilmico Foods Corporation has partnered with the TESDA Women’s Center to put up a business innovation center at the TESDA Compound in Taguig City.

The business innovation center is a 500 square-meter space will be for aspiring bakery business owners to learn the craft of bread and pastry production. It includes a training facility fitted with up-to-date bakery equipment, a lecture room, and a cafe.

The partnership was formalized through a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signing ceremony attended by Apol B. Castro, VP Corporate Strategy and Business Development of Pilmico, Maribeth L. Marasigan, First VP & COO of Aboitiz Foundation, William Paradies, COO – Flour and Farms of Pilmico, Sec. Gene A. Mamondiong, TESDA Director General, Rosanna A. Urdaneta, TESDA Deputy Director General for Policies & Planning, and Marissa G. Legazpi, TESDA NCR Acting Regional Director at the TESDA Women’s Center on 24 August.

Pilmico’s VP for Corporate Strategy and Business Development Apol Castro shares, “The TESDA Women’s Center’s objective of empowering women and youth coincides with our vision to provide sustainable livelihoods to the community.”

The facility will be aptly named Wooden Spoon after Pilmico’s flagship flour brand and as a representation of one of the most reliable tools a baker must own. The whole renovation of the facility is estimated to be about 6 million with 3.6 million dedicated for the outfitting, and design of the space and 2.2 million specifically for the baking equipment.

“As trees and wood symbolize nourishment, liveliness, and unity, WOODEN SPOON will be more than a training center. It will be more than a facility of baking, brewing, and cooking equipment and tools. We envision this to be a facility of innovation and collaboration as we in the Aboitiz Group also deeply values innovation and teamwork”, Aboitiz Foundation COO, Maribeth Marasigan underlines.

For trainings, the TESDA Women’s Center always puts women as the priority for enrollees enforcing a 9:1 ratio of women to men in the classes to be held in the facility. In addition to this, the facility will also be used as Pilmico’s new center for trainings dedicated to their customers and other stakeholders.

The Wooden Spoon business innovation center is expected to be finished by October.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does this partnership reflect the vision of both Aboitiz Foundation and Pilmico for community development?
Aboitiz Foundation COO Maribeth Marasigan described the Wooden Spoon as envisioned to be more than a training center — a facility of innovation and collaboration, reflecting the Aboitiz Group’s core values of innovation and teamwork. Pilmico’s VP Apol Castro explicitly noted the alignment between TESDA Women’s Center’s objectives of empowering women and youth and Pilmico’s own vision of providing sustainable community livelihoods. The partnership thus merges two complementary institutional objectives into a single, jointly maintained physical asset.

What is the Wooden Spoon and what is its purpose?
The Wooden Spoon is a 500-square-meter business innovation center established through a partnership between Aboitiz Foundation, Pilmico, and the TESDA Women’s Center at the TESDA Compound in Taguig City. Named after Pilmico’s flagship flour brand, it functions as a fully equipped training facility for aspiring bakery business owners. The center includes up-to-date bakery equipment, a dedicated lecture room, and a cafe space — positioning it as both a skills training venue and a functioning business environment where concepts can be tested and developed.

What is the total investment in the Wooden Spoon facility and who funded it?
The full renovation and outfitting of the Wooden Spoon facility was estimated at approximately 6 million pesos — 3.6 million dedicated to the design and outfitting of the space, and 2.2 million specifically for the baking equipment. The investment was made by the Aboitiz Foundation through Pilmico, reflecting the Aboitiz Group’s commitment to funding physical infrastructure that produces lasting skills development capacity rather than one-off program expenditures.

Who attended the Memorandum of Agreement signing and what roles did they hold?
The formal MoA signing brought together senior leaders from both sides: from Pilmico and Aboitiz Foundation — Apol B. Castro (VP Corporate Strategy), Maribeth L. Marasigan (First VP and COO of Aboitiz Foundation), and William Paradies (COO of Flour and Farms); from TESDA — Secretary Gene A. Mamondiong (Director General), Rosanna A. Urdaneta (Deputy Director General for Policies and Planning), and Marissa G. Legazpi (TESDA NCR Acting Regional Director). The presence of senior leaders from both government and private sectors signaled the institutional weight of the commitment.

What gender equity principle governs enrollment in the Wooden Spoon facility?
The TESDA Women’s Center enforces a 9-to-1 enrollment ratio of women to men in all training classes held at the facility, consistent with its institutional priority of empowering women and youth. This ratio ensures that the facility’s primary impact is directed toward women — aligning with Pilmico’s stated goal of providing sustainable livelihoods to communities and directly serving female entrepreneurs and aspiring business owners who are underrepresented in bakery business ownership.