CARD allots additional P100 million for MSME funding
Credit to Author: Anna Leah E. Gonzales| Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2019 17:09:55 +0000
THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) renewed its partnership with the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD) Inc., with the latter committing to provide an additional P100 million for microfinancing loans.
In a statement on Friday, the DTI said a memorandum of understanding renewing the partnership was signed on December 16.
CARD committed the additional P100 million of for the Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso (P3) program.
“This brings CARD’s total revolving fund for the P3 program since the partnership began in 2017 to P300 million pesos, which it will lend out to other beneficiaries to widen the reach of the P3 program to more micro borrowers,” said the DTI.
P3 is the department’s program that provides low-interest, no-collateral loans for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The program, managed by the Small Business Corp., is a response to President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive to combat the “5-6” practice.
Through P3, entrepreneurs can borrow P 5,000 to P200,000 from CARD and other accredited credit delivery partners.
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the DTI benefited from the partnership, since CARD supplements the P3.5-billion P3 allocation from the government with their own funds.
CARD is also one of the biggest microfinance institutions in the Philippines, with 7 million borrowers nationwide.
Founder and Chairman Emeritus Dr. Jaime Aristotle Alip reported that CARD have disbursed P600 million in P3 loans to around 56,000 borrowers since 2017.
He also said CARD aims to increase its P3 allocation to P100 million every year to reach 100,000 entrepreneurs.