By THEPHILBIZNEWS STAFF
The government released P5.1 billion through the Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso (P3) Program which is rolled out to the countryside to provide affordable and easy access loans to micro entrepreneurs.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez said the P3 Program will continue without let up to achieve the Trabaho, Negosyo at Kabuhayan Agenda of the Duterte Administration.
“The P3 program was created so that even the smallest of entrepreneurs, like the sari-sari stores owners and market vendors, will have an opportunity to grow their business without the usurious 5-6 loans. I encourage all entrepreneurs in need of capital to avail of the P3 program through the DTI Negosyo Centers and accredited credit delivery partners,” said Sec. Lopez
As of December 23, 2019, the Small Business Corporation (SB Corp.), the micro financing arm of the DTI, has extended financing assistance through the P3 program to 110,006 micro entrepreneurs. Established as the government’s flagship program with the aim to address loan sharks and their onerous loans, P3 has been widened to reach Filipinos throughout the countryside since its inception in 2017 to give them better access to financing.
The SB Corporation has also released a total of P5.15 billion worth of loans through partner micro finance institutes (MFIs). In July, the SB Corporation also introduced 10 Credit Delivery Partners (CDPs) from Luzon to Mindanao to deliver fast and efficiently P3 loans. The P3 Program also now has 412 micro financing institute (MFI) partners to reach rural and far-flung areas in the provinces.
The P3 program is a P1 billion loan financing program intended to give micro enterprises better access to finance, while providing them an alternative to the informal or 5-6 scheme of lending.
Meanwhile, the P3 program has reached out to Maranao entrepreneurs through the Bangon Marawi initiative and has released P7.5 million to 457 Maranao borrowers. Likewise, soldiers and policemen who were either wounded or killed in action during the Marawi siege were also provided assistance with a total of P31 million released to 412 soldiers and policemen, and their families.
The primary beneficiaries of the P3 Program are microenterprises and entrepreneurs that do not have easy access to credit, which include market vendors, agri-businessmen, members of cooperatives, and industry associations.
Under the P3 Program, a micro enterprise can borrow between P5,000 up to P200,000 depending on its business need and repayment capacity with no collateral requirement. Interest rate and service fees, all in, do not exceed 2.5% monthly.
The P3 Program serves as an alternative to the P30 billion “5-6” money lending industry that charges 20% nominal interest rate to MSMEs.
