Purpose in Every Thread and Package with Jessica Ouano and Nikki Sevilla

Jessica Ouano of Kinabuhi and Nikki Sevilla of EcoNest Philippines sit down for a real, no-frills conversation on building businesses that put people and the planet first. From crafting handwoven fashion with artisan weavers to producing cassava-based bioplastics for everyday packaging, they share how personal values—and frustrations—turned into sustainable ventures. With support from Villgro Philippines, they talk about the highs and lows of bootstrapping, what it really takes to get quality and pricing right, and why staying mission-driven matters when things get tough. It’s a story about making room for impact, one challenge at a time.

Episode Timeline: 

00:03:00 - Jessica and Nikke’s Hustles: What They Do and Why They Do It  
00:07:19 - Jessica’s Origin Story: From Anthill to Kinabuhi and Good On You
00:12:52 - Learning Through Impact: Jessica’s Years at Anthill
00:14:42 - Nikki’s First Hustles: Cookies, Clothes, and Potatoes  
00:19:36 - Jumping Into Corporate: From SSI to Real Estate to Grohe
00:24:21 - A Bazaar Rule That Sparked a Business Idea  
00:29:52 - Struggling with Quality When Scaling a Handmade Product  
00:32:30 - Bootstrapping the Business and Funding from Savings   
00:35:57 - Mispricing Mistakes and Educating the Market  
00:38:52 - Using Local Materials and Supporting Philippine Manufacturing  
00:40:36 - What Keeps Them Going Through the Toughest Days  
00:48:13 - How Villgro Helped Them Grow With Mentorship and Funding  
00:52:42 - Why Community Matters More Than Going It Alone  

QUOTES FROM JESSICA & NIKKI:

"I feel like I can't do a job that I can't visibly see that I'm making a positive change in the community. So I think that's my biggest driver and why I'm still doing this even though it doesn't make sense sometimes... knowing that the work that we're doing is super important to the artisans that we work with. I feel like there's so much injustice in the fashion supply chain.” - Jessica Ouano

“Back in the old days, when I started the business, one of the  major challenges that I encountered was pricing the product. I thought it was something that I'm good at already because I priced a lot of SKUs already. But then I realized I really have to understand the market and how I'm going to position the brand and the product.” - Nikki Sevilla

Resources:

LinkedIn (Jessica Ouano): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-ouano-433321180 
Website (Kinabuhi): https://www.kinabuhi.com 
LinkedIn (Nikki Sevilla): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikkisevilla2018 
Website (EcoNest Philippines): https://www.econestph.com

This episode is brought to you by Villgro Philippines: , Paymongo, GoTyme Bank & SeekCap
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