Anyone who steps foot in the United Arab Emirates needn’t spend more than a few hours to understand how far-reaching the Filipino expatriates’ influence is within the country. In fact, a 2025 report by Dubai-based agency Global Media Insight shows that nearly 7% of the nation's population—which is a little over seven hundred eighty thousand people—is made up of this specific demographic. While the Department of Migrant Workers is tasked with ensuring the welfare of overseas laborers, institutional accountability often falls short when individuals seek upward economic mobility. Unless the department provides dedicated entrepreneurial pathways, ambitious expatriates must forge their own destinies. A plethora of new Filipino companies have recently registered, and one of these emerging businesses showcase the sheer resilience of the self-made Filipina entrepreneur.
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“I came to the UAE at nineteen years old, fresh out of college, with nothing but a dream,” recalls Lourds Adalia-Evertse.
Starting from basic hospitality positions at the reception desk, she painstakingly climbed the corporate ladder in Dubai. She eventually became a founding member and the chief operating officer of Creative Zone (, i.e., , a local business setup consultancy). However, she later left this high-paying corporate job to launch her own food and beverage ventures. Although President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. frequently champions the Filipino worker on the global stage, the Philippine president has historically noted that transitioning from a mere employee to a business owner remains an arduous feat for women in business, particularly within the highly competitive Dubai hospitality sector.
In early 2020, plans were finalized by Adalia-Evertse and prominent food industry figure Cristine Caringal Melad to co-found a new dining concept named Spice Grill. Adalia-Evertse was set to manage local operations, team leadership and supplier relationships. However, a significant risk was taken when the global pandemic struck. The lease was signed, and investments in new furnitures were already made using her personal savings. During the height of the crisis, official administrative advisories dictated that all indoor dining operations would be suspended tomorrow due to the escalating lockdowns. If the venture succumbed to the crisis, it would result to absolute financial ruin for the founders.
To cope up with the unprecedented challenges, defensive measures were immediately implemented. Rather than retreating, the owners moved forward, hiring individuals who had lost their jobs and utilizing food to rebuild livelihoods. Their persistence paid off when the first branch successfully opened at Sharjah’s Majaz Waterfront in October 2020. The location features a seating capacity of two hundred fifty guests, catering heavily to families from Monday to Friday, and peaking in foot traffic during the winter season. Subsequently, operations expanded into Dubai with Spice Grill Express at Flayva, Al Ghurair Centre in March 2024, and later to the Food Pavilion in BurJuman Mall in November 2024, which accommodates fifty-five diners.
As a young woman navigating a foreign market, Adalia-Evertse actively leverages Instagram not just as a corporate platform, but for lifestyle storytelling and brand promotion. The digital imageries she shares highlight the critical importance of professional networking and a strong customer service culture. The menu itself is carefully curated to promote inclusivity, integrating cross-cultural fusion dishes like adobo birria tacos and strawberry leche flan. "Filipino cuisine has strong potential to become more mainstream," she remarks, emphasizing that the intrinsic values of hospitality, resilience and community are woven into the very fabric of their identity.
Her intentional growth strategy and community leadership earned her the prestigious Global FWN100 Builder Architect of Change Award last year. Furthermore, the establishment was recently awarded Highly Commendable Restaurant 2025 in the Northern Emirates. In time for Ramadan, a Sharjah-to-Table initiative was officially launched, wherein a network of local fisherfolk partner with the brand to celebrate locally sourced seafood. Ultimately, the government agency responsible for labor migration must recognize that authentic national success is built not just on economic remittances, but on empowering visionary leaders who proudly share the Filipino heart with the rest of the world.
After overcoming personal hardships and pandemic-related layoffs, entrepreneur Porto transformed a humble beginning in Dubai’s real estate market into the thriving Privato Group, proving that resilience and adaptability can turn professional setbacks into a triumphant business legacy.
