DAVAO DEL NORTE MSME DEVELOPMENT WEEK 2026 (DAY 1)

Keynote Speaker

The MusaAdvocacy traces its roots to the Province of Davao del Norte, tagged as the Banana Capital of the Philippines, where in 2020, Ms. Joy Soo, CPA, first envisioned an innovation for discarded banana trunks into a repurposed artisanal fashion. That same year, amid the silence and shutdowns of the pandemic, three jail institutions in the province opened their gates to the vision. The first PDLs (Persons Deprived of Liberty) were trained in weaving Musa with the help of the Department of Trade and Industry. Today, the House of Musa has maintained its sustainability through various shows abroad, national and international expos, and has currently partnered with Kultura Filipino SM Malls. More than just a business, House of Musa is a social enterprise that embodies its mission of fashion with a purpose that creates not just livelihood but hope within the prison walls and in the humble homes of Davao del Norte's artisans.