Ms. November Canieso-Yeo exemplifies how women can thrive in business and entrepreneurship by leveraging science, technology, and innovation (STI). The theme of the 2024 National Women’s Month Celebration, “Lipunang Patas sa Bagong Pilipinas: Kakayahan ng Kababaihan, Patutunayan!” highlights the capability of women to excel across diverse fields and industries.
Ms. Yeo is a social entrepreneur and owner of the Negros Occidental-based startup, Plantsville Health. She is championing the use of the Philippine cinnamon in developing innovative health food and non-food items. Her product line includes home and personal aromatherapy and personal wellness products. Ms. Yeo’s startup company is an incubatee of the Hub for Innovation and Value Engineering (HIVE), Technology Business Incubator (TBI) of the Technological University of the Philippines-Visayas. Ms. Yeo is also a grantee of the program, Women-Helping-Women: Innovating Social Enterprises (WHWISE) of the Department of Science and Technology- Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD) which aims to assist women social entrepreneurs in accessing technologies to improve their products and processes. Through DOST-PCIEERD’s WHWISE program, Ms. Yeo was able to acquire a distiller and solar tunnel dryer which are integral components in manufacturing essential oils.
With various support received from DOST and TUPV, Plantsville Health successfully established a production facility registered with the Food and Drug Authority (FDA) of both the Philippines and the United States of America (USA). Finally, on March 7, 2024, Plantsville Health inaugurated its Processing Facility at TUPV’s Montinola Technology Resource Center in Matab-ang, Talisay, Negros Occidental. The launching and ribbon-cutting ceremony stood out as highlights of the TUPV’s Technology Convention.
In celebration of the 2024 National Women’s Month, DOST commends Ms. November Canieso-Yeo for being a Woman Startup Champion, serving as an inspiration to women entrepreneurs and farmers in Negros Occidental. (KSBBernardino/RDIMS)