Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) that are accredited by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) can now access ‘restart loans’ from government-owned and controlled SB Corporation.
SB Corp. and PCCI have formally signed a memorandum of agreement that operationalizes and facilitates the grant of loans to MSMEs that are struggling to reboot their operations amid the Covid-19 pandemic and following the strict quarantine measures implemented by the government.
Under the agreement, SB Corp—a financial arm under the Department of Trade and Industry—will allocate P300 million as loan facility from its Covid-19 Assistance to Restart Enterprises (CARES) program. For its part, PCCI will facilitate the assignment of loan grants to applicants from its roster of accredited MSMEs.
The memorandum of agreement between PCCI and SB Corp was formally signed by SB Corp President and CEO Ma. Luna Cacanando (seated, second from right) and PCCI President Amb. Benedicto Yujuico (seated, second from left) with PCCI Director Edgar ‘Injap’ Sia II (seated, left), and PCCI Honorary Chair and Treasurer Sergio Ortiz Luis Jr. (seated, right). Also in the contract signing were (standing from left) PCCI Secretary-General Ruben Pascual, PCCI Director for SME Apolinar Aure, and SB Corp Department Manager for Planning Wally Don Calderon.
CARES Program has a total earmarked fund of P1 billion from the national government to be channeled through SB Corp, which in turn is mandated to provide low-interest loans and financial assistance to Filipino entrepreneurs nationwide.
Based on government data, there are more than a million business establishments currently operating in the country. Of those, up to 99.5% or about 998,342 are classified as MSMEs. Most of the MSMEs operate in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon).