Pacita chit juan biography

Pacita “Chit” Juan is a social entrepreneur, green advocate, coffee crusader and advocate for women's empowerment through business.
Pacita Juan shares her entrepreneurial journey from coffee to sustainable lifestyle – making an impact each step of the way.
Born in 1954 in the Philippine capital city of Manila, as the youngest of eight siblings, Pacita (Chit) Juan grew up being ordered around by.

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Pacita Juan shares her entrepreneurial journey from coffee to sustainable lifestyle – making an impact each step of the way.

As women continue to be a driving force for change around the world, this series aims to highlight those who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to creating an impact.

In this exclusive interview, Connected Women caught up with Pacita “Chit” Juan – award-winning entrepreneur, founder and one-time chief executive of Figaro Coffee Co., and founder of ECHOstore, a sustainable lifestyle store.

Tell us about your journey as an entrepreneur

I had founded many start-ups: a Filipino fast-casual food chain, a coffee shop chain, a convenience store, a laundromat, among others. So they called me a serial entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurship was encouraged in our family. My father also founded new enterprises even when he was 56 years old. At a young age, we learned how to work in my father’s businesses, so it was natural that we wanted our own little business after college. I chose those that fitted my lifestyle—a music lounge, a small caf

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, ECHOstore Sustainable Lifestyle

Profile / Bio:

Juan co-founded ECHOstore in 2008 and has since won many awards like Entrepreneur of the Year in 2011 (for social enterprise) by Ernst and Young, Social Entrepreneur of the Year by GO Negosyo, and Bossing award by PLDT/Smart. She also chairs the Women’s Business Council of the Philippines, an advocacy group for policy reforms to empower women in business composed of women CEOs and COOs. She also founded and heads the Philippine Coffee Board, Inc., the Philippine chapters of the International Women’s Coffee Alliance, and the Women Corporate Directors International. Juan is also the Chair of the ASEAN Women Entrepreneurs Network for 2016-2017. She sits in several non-profit boards such as the Haribon Foundation and Philippine Coffee Board Inc.

Materials

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Pacita “Chit” Juan is a social entrepreneur, green advocate, coffee crusader and advocate for women’s empowerment through business. She has been an entrepreneur most of her life, founding start-ups such as a coffee shop chain, a Filipino casual food chain, a farm to table restaurant, and a natural and organic store called ECHOstore, which now has nine branches in its tenth year.

She is the Southeast Asia councilor of Slow Food International and regional coordinator of International Women’s Coffee Alliance. She is the president and co-chair of the Philippine Coffee Board Inc.

Chit received many awards, including Asia Pacific CSR Council’s CEO of the Year in 2018, Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2011 for social enterprise, Social Entrepreneur of the Year by GO Negosyo, and the Bossing award by PLDT and Smart.

With her experience and expertise, Chit often speaks at international fora such as the Global Summit of Women, APEC meetings, and in many conferences on various topics such as sustainability, women’s empowerment and coffee. She is also a prolific wri