By Kris Crismundo/PNA
MANILA — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has rolled out PHP1.7 billion worth of loans to micro enterprises as of this month under the Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso (P3) Program.
DTI reported at the P3 National Congress in Pasay City Monday that this amount will help fund some 52,000 micro enterprises in the country.
The P3 Program is the government’s response to the lack of financial access among micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
This program also aims to help MSMEs access funding at lower yields and at no collateral, and in doing so keep small entrepreneurs away from the clutches of loan sharks such as those involved in the “5-6” lending scheme.
“Access to finance is one of the many concerns of micro enterprises, which is why we have tapped our credit delivery partners in the provinces in different parts of the country to reach more entrepreneurs in the countryside and help spur economic activity in the area and provide employment to Filipinos,” Small Business (SB) Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer Ma. Luna Cacanando.
SB Corp. is DTI’s financing arm that facilitates the P3 Program, wherein it does the retailing of government funding through conduits.
More than 250 microfinancing institutions have partnered with DTI to roll out the P3 fund.
The government began the program in January 2017, launching it in typhoon-stricken Tacloban.
DTI prioritizes the implementation the P3 Program in the poorest provinces in the country.
This year, bills were filed in the Congress to institutionalize the government microfinance program.
When passed, the government is expected to allocate annual funding for the P3 Program.
