CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) recently launched its Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-Asenso (P3) loan program in Central Luzon.
It primarily aims to benefit those in the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector who do not have high source of high cost by offering them alternative source of financing.
Rebecca Narciso, Department Manager of Small Business Corporation (SB Corp) which is an attached agency of DTI, said the government has allotted Php 1 billion to help small entrepreneurs who are lending through the “5-6” mechanism to grow their businesses.
“To help them gain easier access to alternative financing at reasonable cost, we at SB Corp have initially allocated P100 million for lending to microenterprises throughout the country, at an interest rate of 2.5% and amounts ranging from P5,000 to P100,000,” Narciso announced.
She explained that under the P3 program, the loan does not require collateral and minimal documentary requirements will be submitted, adding that the rate compares well with 10-20% per month charged by other fund provinces.
To date, Department of Budget and Management has released the first tranche of fund to SB Corp. amounting to P334.250 million.
Aside from SB Corp, Radiowealth Finance Company, Taytay Sa Kauswagan Inc., Cebuana Lhuillier and MASS SPECC Cooperative Development Center are also set to implement the program in all their branches/business units nationwide.