Anna Meloto and the Growth of A Social Enterprise
Friday, March 4, 2016
Seven years ago, Dylan Wilk and Anne Meloto-Wilk, daughter of Gawad Kalinga’s Tony Meloto, went to the US to set up a network of volunteers for Gawad Kalinga. During this time, Anna noticed the popularity of organic products penetrating the local supermarkets and thought of replicating this in the Philippines.
Anna, together with her sister Camille started brainstorming on how to provide affordable, locally-made natural beauty products for the Filipinos. After much research and a few collaborations, they started a social enterprise called Gandang Kalikasan, Inc, a company that would become the biggest producer of natural personal care products under the brand name Human Nature.
Beginnings of a Social Entrepreneur
Anna’s love for the country started at a very young age. Her parents would bring her and two younger sisters to different places in the country to let them appreciate the beauty of the Philippines. Her father would also expose her to the slums to show what life is on the other end of the spectrum.
She narrated the time when her father brought her to Bagong Silang at age sixteen to interact with the juvenile delinquents of the area. “Needless to say, it was a life-changing moment for me. I realized that we are all the same, each person is our equal and we need to treat everybody with dignity and respect.”
