Dr. Generoso Octavio (right) receives a trophy as Outstanding SEARCA Scholarship Alumni (OSSA) awardee from Los Baños-based Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture director Gil Saguiguit Jr. Octavio was among 11 Southeast Asians who received the OSSA award for their exemplary achievements in their fields of specialization over the past five decades. He was recognized for founding the highly successful Ahon sa Hirap Inc. (ASHI), a non-government organization which considerably helped usher in the new wave of modern microfinance in the country. ASHI has a loan portfolio of almost P500,000,000 serving almost 40,000 poor women clients from an initial target clientele of 100 people.
