Baguio City – In support to the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte to assist small businesses that habitually depend on 5-6 lending, the Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso (P3) is now ready to assist micro-enterprises such as market vendors, agri-business and workers of cooperatives and industry organizations. The Small Business Corporation will administer the P3 program.
This was bared by DTI-CAR Regional Director Myrna Pablo during the P3 Regional Roll Out Program held in Baguio City recently participated by about 40 micro financing institutions (MFIs) from all the provinces of the region.
The P3 as explained by Pablo is intended to help the underprivileged Filipino entrepreneurs who want to grow and expand their businesses through an easy access to loans without any hassle like collaterals.
With sufficient funds to provide to borrowers, the DTI and its micro-financing arm Small Business Corporation (SB Corp) will lead the implementation that will assist micro entrepreneurs financially and enable them to grow their businesses.
Venus Albay, the Officer-in-Charge of SB Corp.’s Northern Luzon Group briefed the participants on the accreditation and implementation guidelines of the P3 program stressing the importance of the client’s capacity to pay and good track record as a borrower. Albay however added that Micro-financing Institutions (MFIs), cooperatives and non-bank institutions or association must be accredited by the SC Corp as a conduit to assist in the distribution of the funds to micro-entrepreneurs.
The P3 program is a P1Billion financing program primarily intended to give micro-entrepreneurs better access to finance and to reduce their cost of borrowing. Said program will likewise make it easier for borrowers since it will only require minimal documentation requirement, easy to access with only one day processing of application, low cost interest at 2.5% per month and easy payment with repayment terms on a weekly or daily basis depending on the business cycles. Borrowers can avail a loan from P5,000 up to P100,000 with no collateral. The P3 Program was initially in the country’s 30 poorest province. Now it is being implemented in provinces where 5-6 is prevalent. Art Tibaldo /DTI-CAR