pinoyme foundation board of · pdf filepinoyme foundation board of trustees chair emeritus...

PinoyME Foundation Board of Trustees

CHAIR EMERITUSH.E. Corazon C. Aquino

TRUSTEES

Senen C. Bacani

Victoria P. Garchitorena

Rafael C. Lopa

Juan Miguel Luz

Vitaliano N. Nañagas II

Manuel V. Pangilinan

Amb. Albert F. del Rosario

Ramon del R. Rosario, Jr.

CHAIRDeogracias N. Vistan

PRESIDENT & CEODanilo A. Songco

CORPORATE SECRETARYAtty. Jose Feria, Jr.

PinoyME SecretariatUnit 602, Manila Luxury Condominium 12 Pearl Drive cor. Gold Loop Ortigas Center, Pasig City, 1600 PhilippinesTels: (632) 635-4937, 635-6387, 638-2851Fax: (632) 634-0249Email: [email protected]: www.pinoyme.com

Aniceto M. Sobrepeña

Washington Z. Sycip

Amb. Jesus P. Tambunting

Veronica F. Villavicencio

Daniel Lacson, Jr.

AnnuAl RepoRt 2010

PinoyME at 5:

PEOPLE POWER AGAINST POVERTY

CONTENTS Message

Knowledge Management for Policy and AdvocacyMovements to Create a Climate Gains of a Season

1

3

7

10

11

Knowledge Management for MISJoint Input for Higher Yield

Helping MFIs “get IT right”

14

15

Getting Good Grades

Laying the Groundwork

Business Development Services Connecting Micro to Markets Life after Microfinance

Banking on the Micro-Entrepreneur

PinoyME FoundationPartnerships to Plant New Seeds Financial Report

Microfinance Stories

PinoyME Partners

PinoyME Staff

13

18

19

6

25

29

31

32

21

PinoyME (“Filipino Microenterprise”) is a gathering of leaders from the business, academic, and social development sectors. It aims to reduce poverty in the Philippines by bolstering microfinance and micro-entrepreneurship. The PinoyME Foundation is its social investment banking arm.

Capacity BuildingCultivating Professionals

PHOTO CREDITSJude Noel LimErik EstradaRainier TinapayEugene Ranada Arkham

REPORT WRITTEN BY Stella Deriquito

INTERvIEWS Glenn Atanacio

LAYOUTMitzi Sabando

PinoyME at 5: People Power Against Poverty

AnnuAl RepoRt 2010

The Philippines takes pride in having popularized the term people power, and it has been my dream to harness this force to eradicate poverty in my country.

- Corazon Aquino February 2008

Getting Good Grades

Laying the Groundwork

Business Development Services Connecting Micro to Markets Life after Microfinance

Five years ago, Corazon Aquino slipped almost unnoticed into a microfinance lecture in Tatalon, Quezon City. There she watched intently as women from a poor community asked questions about starting small enterprises to support their families. Riveted by their desire to work for a bet-ter life, and by the possibilities that a little capital could bring into their daily struggles, she wanted to learn more. Her subsequent journey into the world of micro-entrepreneurs left her deeply moved. She was to say in 2008: “I’ve had the privilege of drawing inspiration from ordinary Filipinos who, amid the squalor of some of our poorest communities, lead far more honorable lives…recovering dignity in the midst of poverty by dint of hard and decent work.”

In this small but vital sector of micro-enterprise, she found not only inspiration but the seeds of another revolution. “Since 1986,” she was to write later, “one of my main preoccupations has been seeking ways by which to make use of people power as a force for eliminating poverty.” She found her answer in microfinance. Gathering together microfinance movers, bankers, busi-ness leaders, and NGOs, she called for a season

of extraordinary collaboration. Her vision: to grow people power around the kind of entrepreneurship that would empower the poor.

And so, in the last five years, the PinoyME consortium has been guided by that vision, growing multi-sec-toral support around the industry of micro-enterprise.

PinoyME works, first of all, to create a climate where micro-enterprise can effectively combat poverty. It brings together experts and practitioners, catalyzing conversation, research, discussion, consensus and advocacy on strategic policy directions that the industry must take. Broadening the reach of micro-finance, increasing the access of the poor to formal financial services, promoting the integration of micro entrepreneurs into the formal markets, building up MFIs for profitability and social impact - these, stakeholders agree, are the elements that will create an environment for more and more of the poor to emerge from poverty through enterprise.

PinoyME also fertilizes multi-stakeholder support to strengthen microfinance institutions (MFIs). It links up with different sectors to open credit lines that will help irrigate their work--especially in areas where the

PinoyME at 5: People Power Against Poverty : AnnuAl RepoRt 2010

Me

ssag

e

Growing People PowerAgainst Poverty

1

poor are numerous and services scant. It cultivates a circle of specialists and providers to help MFIs increase their yield through efficient management information systems. It nurtures partnerships to develop innovative training courses that will cultivate microfinance professionals for the field.

PinoyME also studies the formal market, and explores numerous ways of connecting marginalized micro enterprises to its vast ecosystem. It explores new terrain with policymakers and various industry movers, seeking to carve out new paths that will traverse the tragic distance between the poor and the mainstreams of economic life.

Because these are all pioneering and groundbreaking efforts, results do not come easily or quickly. The work has been a long season of cultivation, with some encouraging glimpses of fruit.

What is very clear, however, is that the community of industry stakeholders is growing. In the last five years, PinoyME itself has bloomed into a vibrant, branching network of partners and providers, able to catalyze multi-sectoral collaboration on industry challenges and opportunities.

The consortium, in fact, draws its distinct strength from its roots in partnership building. The rich interaction of individuals and institutions is what enables PinoyME to facilitate efforts that have the potential for strategic industry impact.

These potent initiatives lead PinoyME to look forward with confidence to another season--its next five years - where it hopes to bring an even wider public into the many fields of microfinance and micro enterprise development. More and more, it hopes to rally the power of people around the vision Corazon Aquino had made her own: a flourishing of enterprise where great numbers of the poor can reap abundant harvests.

- The PinoyME Steering Committee and the Board of Trustees of PinoyME Foundation

2

No matter how much farmers till the ground, not much can grow if the climate is not suited to cultivation.

In the same way, microfinance institutions (MFIs) and micro-entrepreneurs (MEs) labor in vain if the national policy environment does not support the growth of micro-enterprise as a key pathway to a better life for the poor.

PinoyME formed its working group on knowledge management to bring sectors to move towards creating this necessary policy climate.

BaselineTo get a current “lay of the land,” PinoyME led about 20 institutions in a strategic research initiative. This culminated in an extensive compilation and survey of around 280 studies on Philippine microfi-nance and microenterprise development written in the last two decades. This baseline study--made possible by Hanns Seidel Founda-tion/Germany (HSF), under the joint project “Microfinance Capacity Building Program” in partnership with the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation (NCAF)--is now the most current “go-to” reference on microfinance and micro-enterprise development.

experts to propose ChangeArmed with this substantive research, the knowledge management working group brought key experts together to draft a paper recommending policy directions for the industry.

Movements to Create a Climate

Kn

ow

led

ge

Man

age

me

nt

for

Polic

y an

d A

dvo

cacy


“Mainstreaming Micro: A policy Issues paper on Microfinance and Micro-enterprise Development” (2010) tells the “story” of microfinance, piecing together developments, trends and issues in the field. It then calls for a broad, multi-sectoral effort to address four key challenges:

First, increasing microfinance’s outreach to the poor - that is bringing microfinance to rural, agricultural areas where majority of the poor reside, and bringing to the poor the full range of microfinance service (not just microcredit, but also savings, microinsurance and remittance services)

Second, promoting the progress of microentrepreneurs - that is, promoting their integration into the mainstream market, to ensure that a “critical mass” grow into the small enterprise level and beyond (which only 1-2% of ME’s are able to do), where value increases and emerging from poverty becomes a real possibility.

Third, increasing the impact of MFIs on poverty - that is, helping MFIs become more profitable in order to be better able to offer low interest rates and thus reach the truly chronic poor; but at the same time, helping MFIs to increasingly measure their performance in terms of alleviating the poverty and vulner-ability of their clients.

Fourth, increasing the access of the poor to formal financial services - that is, working for a policy and regulatory environment that promotes “financial inclusiveness” -- wherein appropriate financial services and products are made available to all sectors, including and especially the poor. An inclusive financial system is important to the poor because access to formal financial services facilitates payment, strength-ens their protection against shocks, lowers their business cost, helps them to build up their assets over time, and generally allows them to participate more fully in the formal economy.

{1}

{2}

{3}

{4}

4

Getting Stakeholder SupportTo bring industry movers to discuss and validate the proposed policy agenda, PinoyME convened what is possibly the largest multi-stakeholder conference in the recent history of the microfinance and micro-enterprise development industry.

“Mainstreaming Micro: The Philippine Micro-enterprise Stakeholders’ Conference,” assembled close to 120 individuals, representing MFIs, commercial and rural banks, business organizations, entrepreneurs, academics, government agencies, service providers and donor agencies. This conference was made possible with the support of Hanns Seidel Foundation and the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation.

The conference provoked rich exchange, and at the end of the day, the body gave its nod to what is now a milestone document: a policy agenda for the microfinance sector to pursue.

Advocacy The conference also led to the creation of a policy advocacy platform and coordinating system, called Advocates for Microenterprises or AD4ME. A multi-stakeholder consortium, AD4ME will promote collaborative research, dialogue and policy discussion among stakeholders. It will also raise public awareness on the importance of microenteprise in Philippine society, and monitor the progress of the policy agenda of the sector.

But even this early, PinoyME is already active in some policy fronts. For instance, PinoyME was instrumental in helping the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) develop sustainable enterprise as a vital part of its anti-poverty strategy. It is also working with other key government agencies to drive micro-enterprise development deeper into the heart of national policy.

PinoyME hopes that as more groups from different sectors join the work of the consortium, advocacy for the policy reform agenda will gather force, and ultimately help create that invigo-rating climate necessary for the flourishing of micro-enterprise.


Kn

ow

led

ge

Man

age

me

nt

for

Polic

y an

d A

dvo

cacy

5

Gai

ns

of A

Sea

son

PinoyME’s first major step - the research initiative--is a valuable service, according to Dr. Ma. Piedad Geron, a microfinance consultant at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and con-tributor to PinoyME’s policy reform agenda paper. “It is particularly useful to the (microfinance) sector in terms of bringing together key informa-tion on what research studies have already been done and how the players can access these stud-ies,” she says. “Putting up a knowledge manage-ment center for all initiatives in MF is a step that will be useful to the sector.”

Three stakeholders laud the 2010 conference “Mainstreaming Micro” for the multisectoral sup-port it was able to muster, a feat which made for richer and more informed discussion on the prob-lems besetting microfinance.

“I think PinoyME has been able to bring together stakeholders from various sectors to jointly grapple with the issues that have to be addressed, and to come up with solutions to help the microfinance sector and of course the clients,” says Professor Ronald Chua, microfinance champion of the Asian Institute of Management (AIM). “The multi-sector perspective allows people to see things from dif-ferent viewpoints--see different ideas and have new solutions.”

Dr. Aris Alip, multi-awarded head of the giant MFI CARD (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development), also appreciates PinoyME’s con-vening power, as it helps create a vital space for policymaking. “PinoyME plays a very important role… it can bring together all the microfinance institutions, the cooperatives sector, the multi-national companies, the government. It brings about a vibrant and a better policy-making environment with private sector and government participation.”

Geron agrees that this convening ability is a definite plus in the tough arena of advocacy. “The conference was able to bring together most of the stakeholders in the industry,” she observes. “Because of that, I think PinoyME was able to generate sufficient ‘buy-in’ for the policy agenda that was presented and discussed dur-ing the conference. I think it helps a lot that the key stakeholders support the policy agenda. This lends credibility to the whole agenda, and therefore it is easier to get support from the con-cerned policymakers.”

For Geron, another accomplishment lies in that PinoyME was able to “create a critical mass of advocates that would push for the appropri-ate policy environment for microfinance.” This “critical mass”, now galvanized into a consor-tium called “ADforME” is expected to bring the policy reform agenda deeper into the heart of government’s development strategies.

A collation of microfinance material, a muster-ing of key stakeholders behind a policy reform agenda, a critical mass of advocates. These are the fruits of a five-year season, a season stake-holders are not likely to forget.

It began at a quiet pace, with a small work-ing group steeped in study. Then PinoyME’s research and policy efforts began to gain mo-mentum in 2009, going into high gear in 2010 with a flourishing of multi-sectoral support and notable breakthroughs.

After five years, stakeholders reflect on a productive and exhilarating season.

6

Joint Inputs for Higher YieldAs an MFI’s clients and transactions increase, systems to capture and process data must keep up. Otherwise, operations can be hampered, impact can be hard to measure, and expansion impossible to pursue.

For MFIs to grow, therefore, they need information technology (IT) to make their management information systems (MIS) more efficient. But since MFIs do not have the necessary IT expertise, and because there are hardly any IT services geared to meet the needs of microfinance, the solutions have been elusive.

Thus, PinoyME’s knowledge management working group decided to see what it could do to help.

Kn

ow

led

ge

Man

age

me

nt

for

MIS


Automation GuideAfter studying the technology options available for microfi-nace, PinoyME decided it had to offer MFIs a gentler transition to computerization. It prepared a basic guide to automation for MFIs. The Automation Guide is now a technical resource document endorsed by the Consultative Group Against Poverty (CGAP), the international partnership of donors, MFIs and the multilateral institutions to scale up microfinance globally. It can be downloaded at the Microfinance Gateway (www.microfinancegateway.com).

An MIS Course For MFIsThen, with the help of Micra Philippines, Peace and Equity Foundation, MicroSave, Institute for Development and Econo-metric Analysis (IDEA), Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (MABS) and Grameen Foundation USA, PinoyME was able to facilitate the designing of an MIS course that is a first-of-its-kind in the country.

7

The course is designed as a two-phase process.

The first phase is an MIS workshop that aims to help MFIs appreciate basic concepts in applying IT in MIS, and to help them plan their MIS automation. This workshop has already had two pilot runs, one for MFIs in Minadano and another for MFIs in Luzon.

The second phase is an optional advisory phase, where an MFI may avail of an IT consultant to guide it making decisions in integrating automated MIS with its operational system and processes. Since participants in the MIS course cannot be expected to acquire all the technical know-how needed to make decisions on automating their MIS, this phase will help ensure that they will be closely guided in making difficult decisions.

{1}

{2}

MIS Course PHASE 1 “Let’s Get IT Right”, Lake Island Resort, Tayuman, Binangonan, Rizal (July 21-23, 2010)

8

Kn

ow

led

ge

Man

age

me

nt

for

MIS


Roll out plansPinoyME is now teaming-up with Accenture, a business process outsourc-ing company that has asked its employees to do volunteer work on company time. Through this partnership, PinoyME will be able to tap a big number of Accenture’s 20,000-strong workforce (most of whom are IT and business process experts) as voluntary consultants for the consulting phase of the MIS course. At the same time, Accenture Philippines will be contributing its share to the company’s global goal of providing employment skills to marginalized groups.

After successful pilot runs, the course is now ready for roll out on a commercial basis. It will be offered on a regular basis to MFIs for a fee. This will enable PinoyME to offer it to more MFIs in a sustainable way. With the partnership with Accenture, the MIS training can become a high quality professional course that combines knowledge, practical inputs and high quality technical consultants for a reasonable price.

With more efficient systems, MFIs can perform better and expand aggressively. Thus, PinoyME will continue to support this MIS initiative, because it will help microfinance increase its reach and yield and its impact on the poor.

9

“The MIS course is designed to help MFIS (mainly small and medium ones) to articulate their MIS needs and also to identify the right software and vendor that can meet their requirements,” says Sumit Bagchi, an IT and MIS expert from India, and PinoyME MIS resource person. “It is expected that after undergoing this course MFIs will be better equipped to harness MIS/IT for their business re-quirements - and hopefully not end up spending huge sums of money in mak-ing wrong MIS purchase decisions.”

Hel

pin

g M

FIs

“get

IT r

igh

t”

Strategic, not just techieBagchi wanted to offer training that would be genuine-ly useful. “The course looks at the issue of automation from a strategic viewpoint, not from a purely 'techie' perspective,” he explains. “It then translates the MFIs operational and strategic needs into software features that MFIs can look for in the systems that they are evaluating.” He adds: “The course tries to cover the topics in a very logical manner. There is a clear ‘story-line.’ It also incorporates case studies and exercises that stimulate debate and discussion.”

Of the course’s pilot runs, Bagchi says: “I would say the response was very encouraging and positive. The par-ticipants found the course perspective very useful.”

In the long term, automation can have dramatic effects. Bagchi enumerates three: “First, improved productiv-ity and related cost savings--this ultimately will translate into improved profitability of MFIs and lower inter-est rates for their clients; second, improved decision-making by MFIS based on REAL TIME information; and third, more transparency.” These are strong reasons for a continued effort to help MFIs “get IT right.”

10


Cultivating Professionals The success of the microfinance movement is, to

a large extent, dependent on the capacities of the organizations and people who drive it – the MFIs and their staff. The PinoyME Capacity Building working group was formed in order to examine their management and training needs and bring in multi-sectoral effort to address them. When PinoyME started in 2006, the MFIs estimate that the industry would need more than 10,000 new front line staff to achieve the goal of reaching 5 million clients with microfinance services.

The group’s maiden years bore fruit in various training options for microfinance loan officers--the “warm bodies on the ground” who bring microfinance to poor communities.

More training options for loan officersIn October 2009, a curriculum for a loan officer vocational course was finalized as well, and the Technical Skills and Development Authority (TESDA) approved the Training Regulation for Microfinance Technology- National Certificate II (NC II) on April 2010. The course is composed of class-room sessions and on the job training. Graduates who pass a national assessment will be awarded a certificate recognized anywhere in the country.

Various training institutes, including Alalay sa Kaunlaran Inc (ASKI) Skills and Knowledge Institute, Center for Community Transformation (CCT) Training and Development Institute and Brokenshire College, are in the process of getting TESDA accreditation, and plan to offer this course in the near future.

An equivalency program is currently being formalized, whereby graduates of the vocational course can be accepted into the BSBA program without having to start at year 1.

A university Course for loan officersIn 2009, PinoyME’s unique, competency-based, academic course opened in Bicol Uni-versity in Daraga, Albay. This was the fruit of collaboration led by primary course developer Mr. Antonio Alegria (of the Dual Training Sys-tem Network Foundation), MFIs and interested schools. The BSBA Major in Microfinance course is designed as a “ladderized” program, which will enable graduates to gain employ-ment as loan officers in an MFI after earning a certificate in microfinance following 2 years of study. The full four-year course is being designed, whereby the 3rd year is intended for supervisors, and the fourth year for branch managers. In 2010, the College of the Immac-ulate Conception in Cabanatuan started offer-ing the same course as well. Ten schools are preparing to offer the course starting school year 2011.

Cap

acit

y B

uild

ing

11

Another equivalency program enables current MFI employees without formal degrees to get the academic credentials they need. Pilot implementa-tion of this program is ongoing in the University of Makati and some MFIs based in the National Capi-tal Region.

PinoyME, in partnership with Punla sa Tao Founda-tion and various consultants, has also developed various materials, which can be used for both the TESDA course and the university course.

Batch 1The promulgation by TESDA of the Training Regula-tion NCII paved the way for the first national assess-ment based on this standard. In July 2010, twenty-one participants from partner MFIs took the written exams and were interviewed by appointed expert assessors from the microfinance sector. Fifteen of the successful NC II awardees came from PinoyME partner MFIs. This first batch of successful exam-inees will compose the pool of future trainers and assessors of the competency-based short course.

FUTURE LEADERS IN MICROFINANCE - Students of Bicol University (BU) taking up BSBA major in Microfinance.

Group WorkThe process of designing and offering formal microfinance courses has also catalyzed various partnerships at the national and local levels, and set in motion other collaborative activi-ties. For instance, schools are now in the process of becom-ing more meaningful centers for micro entrepreneurship. MFIs are now working with each other and with universities in finding ways to improve the economic condition of poor communities. At the national level, the task of developing the courses has yielded a wealth of interaction among MFIs, academe, business, NGOs, local schools and government education regulators.

In the beginning, the objective was simply to develop a pool of competent graduates, but the whole process is now con-tributing to professionalizing the whole MFI sector. The vision is for microfinance to become a mainstream career option just like nursing or business management, and for a new genera-tion of highly trained professionals to emerge and bring credit and support services to more of the country’s poor. A large, trained workforce will help microfinance graduate to being a major force in the nation’s development by bringing capital to where they are most needed but least available.

12


Get

ting

goo

d g

rad

es In the Bicol University campus in Daraga, Albay, about 100 college students are pursuing an unusual dream: to become microfinance loan officers, and yes, maybe even microfinance supervisors or branch managers.

“Both the students and the administration say the same thing: that the BSBA Course in Microfinance is simple yet very practi-cal,” says Dr. Rameses Llorino, Industrial Coordinator for Microfinance and As-sistant Dean of the College of Business, Economics and Management (CBEM). “That is because of the dual-training, competency-based approach,” he ex-plains, “whereby the course is designed to specifically provide the student with the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed by the job for which they are being trained.” Since that job is with MFIs, he says, “the curriculum and its design meet the needs of these organizations.”

That the course is serving an actual and urgent need is very gratifying to LLorino. “We are surprised to know that the MFIs are really waiting for our graduates who will help them in the delivery of services to MFIs clients,” he says. “Thus, the cur-riculum presents tremendous potentials in expanding the recruitment ground for account officers. It will further profession-alize the human resources of the microfi-nance sector.”

“What excites us most is that in the fu-ture we will help solve the MFIs’ human resources needs….In the future, I can see that there will be great demand for the microfinance course in the region as well as in the country.”Dr. Rameses LLorino,

Industrial Coordinator for Microfinance and Assistant

Dean of the College of Business, Economics and Man-

agement (CBEM)

13

Layi

ng

th

e g

roun

dw

ork

The last five years have been a painstaking but fruitful journey for PinoyME’s capacity building working group. “I think we have laid the groundwork to address the need for loan officers, supervisors and branch managers, particlarly forthe smaller MFIs,” says Profes-sor Ronald Chua, microfinance expert of the Asian Insitute of

Management (AIM) and working group chair. “The challenge now is to move the program from loan officers to supervisors and branch managers. Then, hopefully, it becomes a self-sustaiining initiative.” He says, however, that “The impact our our efforts remains to be seen.”

This early, however, MFIs are already counting their blessings. “Of all the initiatives started by PinoyME, what I really like most is the training courses to hone microfinance personnel,” says Dr. Aris Alip, who leads one of the biggest MFIs in the country. “You know, we microfinance practitioners, as we expand, we need people. PinoyME, together with its very powerful network, was able to design technical courses, with schools and colleges, with TESDA and the Department of Education, to develop the people we need. Isn’t that beautiful? Now we stand to have a steady source of manpower.”

14


Bu

sin

ess

De

velo

pm

en

t Se

rvic

es

Connecting Micro to Markets

Unlike business firms, micro-entrepreneurs work with formidable constraints. They do not have the resources and expertise to enhance product design, use technology, improve packaging, produce in bulk, or access large markets. Thus, only 1-2% of microfinance clients actually progress to viable small and medium scale enterprises. To grow out of poverty, micro entrepreneurs need a variety of other inputs, management skills training, product development, marketing, and others.

For this reason, PinoyME formed a Business Development Services (BDS) Working Group to provide MEs with the technical support needed to run successful businesses.

From Best practices to Value Chains

In 2008, PinoyME sponsored a groundbreaking conference on BDS entitled, “Taking Micro-enterprises to the Next Level”. The conference brought together 50 organizations to exam-ine the “basics” of BDS- enterprise management, product development and marketing, and consolidation and distribution. Some of the best practices in these aspects of BDS provision were presented, as well as some successful entrepreneurial experiences in up-scaling micro-enterprises. The conference was an important step in establishing dialogue on BDS practice in the country, and gathering the practitioners, stakeholders and partners interested in the conversation.

Building on what was started in 2008, another conference was convened a year later, this time focusing more specifically on special topics in BDS delivery. The conference, entitled “Building the Capacities of Growth-Oriented Micro-Entrepreneurs” was attended by 100 participants from MFIs, business, academe, NGOs and donors. Through focused sessions,

15

greater attention was devoted to dissecting lessons and strategies in key areas such as setting up BDS programs, selling to the high-end market, and consolidating ME products to achieve scale. “Business clinics” with pioneering organizations and a trade exhibit of innovative ME products were also part of this conference.

In its 2010 conference entitled, “Adding Value Through Value Chains”, PinoyME sought to shift the thinking in the microfinance industry away from individual microenterprises or households, towards value chains - the networks of producers, processors, suppliers and buyers that add value to a product. This means thinking more strategically about the larger market dynamics that surround each micro-

enterprise, in order to find ways to increase earnings for micro entrepreneurs.

The conference featured discussions on the dynamics of value chains, as well as some critical tasks for increas-ing value- such as selecting what business to get into, improving internal enterprise management, and market facilitation. In addition, the conference also included field trips to innovative MEs that succeeded in playing a larger role within their respective lines of business.

Building profitable RelationshipsIn the course of convening conferences and meetings, PinoyME has catalyzed networks of BDS advocates and practitioners, which include micro entrepreneurs, MFIs,

16


businesspeople, academics, donor agency representatives, and NGO leaders.

Perhaps most significantly, the interactions have resulted in actual business partnerships that have linked micro-producers to larger markets and opportunities.

For instance, in the course of the PinoyME activities, several small producers of various agricultural products have now been contracted as regular suppliers for EchoStore, an organic products retail chain catering to the local high-end market.

Also through the intervention of PinoyME, a microenterprise producing handicrafts, Custom-Made Crafts, was able to penetrate the mainstream handicraft retail store Kultura in the SM Megamalls. There have also been breakthroughs in the international market. PinoyME assisted Likha ni Inay, a product line of CARD BDS Foundation, to sell products at the Expo 2010in Shanghai, China. Aside from being significant market opportuni-ties, these initiatives have also been learning experiences for micro enterprises on the level of product quality and quantity needed for major markets.

partnerships Ready to BloomMotivated by earlier successes in bringing MEs and large buyers together, PinoyME has catalyzed what it calls the “Civil Society-Public-Private Partnership (CPPP)”. True to its name, the CPPP brings together key NGOs, government agencies, private firms, farmer organizations and donor agencies around the idea of bring-ing the produce of small farmers to market. The strategy is to look for large, stable markets, consolidate the produce of numerous small farmers in order to fulfill the volume requirements, and sup-port production and other operations with the necessary financing. Some large markets, established restaurants, fast-food chains and hospitals, have already been identified, and the CPPP is in the pro-cess of bringing the different elements of the operation together.

Success in these types of large scale tie-ups could usher in a bountiful season for MEs, and the emancipation of the poor who rely on them.

Bu

sin

ess

De

velo

pm

en

t Se

rvic

es

17

That BDS Center was responsible for creating the successful Hapinoy Chain of Stores, “We have many clients with sari-sari store businesses,” he relates. “We made these sari-sari stores into a network, and ‘rebranded’ them, giving them one look--one signage, one color, one design. We called them the Hapinoy stores. Our BDS center talked to different multinational companies, offering to carry all their products in the Hapinoy stores, if they would give a dis-count for our nanays, our clients. The companies we talked to liked this offer a lot, and many signed up.” This is the kind of service CARD attempts to give its 1.4 million clients: a one-stop shop for product development advice, consolidation and vital links to potential markets.

pinoyMe’s BDS effortsBecause he knows how critical BDS is to improving a client’s

income and sustainability as an entrepreneur, Alip is a strong supporter of PinoyME’s BDS conferences.

“I always push for these BDS conferences, because this is the distinct competence of PinoyME: to bring stake-holders together … In the BDS conferences, many alli-ances are really formed and I don’t mean just ‘shallow talk’ networking. These are real market encounters! I remember Binalot (a popular and alternative “fast-food” chain specializing in traditional Filipino dishes wrapped in banana leaves). We found out that they were looking for suppliers of rice and banana leaves. We happened to have clients that could supply these needs. That experi-ence of linking up them up with Binalot was beautiful.”

Alip also appreciates the opportunity to learn new things and to reflect, for instance, about value chains (PinoyME’s 2010 BDS Conference).

“As a microfinance practitioner,” he says, “I saw that in order to support the client at the lowest unit, you can also provide microfinance to the middlemen, the assem-blers and the distributors--because many of them borrow at high interest rates from lending institutions. If we can provide support at these levels, the financial cost will go down, and we can better ensure that our clients will have outlets, that their products will have sure markets.”

new entrepreneursThat is why, for Alip, microenterprise should not end with credit. “I always like to say that there is life after microfinance,” he declares. “With BDS, we can develop the new entrepreneurs of the community. Because if you have BDS and value chain financing in addition to that, these poor ME’s become entrepreneurs, graduate to SMEs, and soon become employers. They generate employment. That to me is another effective method of eradicating poverty.”

BDS:

Life

aft

erM

icro

finan

ce Dr. Aris Alip is a strong believer in BDS. So convinced is he of its importance that his MFI, CARD (Center for Agrcultural and Rural Development) has its very own BDS center.

18

Banking on the Micro-

Risk-taker The PinoyME consortium saw many reasons why the microfinance sector needed this special kind of banker.

One is the need to provide more financial sources for MFIs, so that they can expand their work among the poor. Aside from grants and other special forms of assistance from non-profit organizations, most MFIs do not have much to go on. Commercial banks are not an option for most of them. “Except for a hand-ful that lend to bigger MFIs, Philippine commercial banks don’t see microfinance as a real market yet,” observes Deogracias Vistan, former president of

Landbank and chairperson of PMEF. “Why? First, because microfinance is something new to them; second, they perceive certain risks; third, the loans are generally without collateral so they are hesitant to take on this kind of risk…” Besides he continues, most microfinance loans are too small for commercial banks to really take an interest in.

PMEF was formed to fill this vacuum--and to open or access funds that can be on-lent to MFIs, which they can in turn lend to MEs.

“So we are definitely not a microfinance institution,” clarifies Vistan. “We don't lend directly to individual borrowers, we lend to MFIs. Maybe we can be

entrepreneurEvolving from PinoyME’s working group on resource mobilization, PinoyME Foun-dation was established in July 2007 to be a social investment banker for Philippine MFIs and through them, for impoverished microentrepreneurs.


PinoyME Foundation

likened to a commercial bank or a specialized lending institution like the People’s Credit Finance Corporation that addresses the needs of MFIs. (So) we are not unlike banks or financial institutions that lend to MFIs, but we are obviously a not-for-profit institution. We are a foundation, and the reason that we were created is to promote micro lending to underprivileged entrepreneurs through the MFIs.”

Going the extra MileBecause it is dedicated to helping MFIs become better instruments in helping poor entrepreneurs, PMEF does more than simply lend. It also tries to go an extra mile to help MFIs that have limited resources when it comes to management expertise, technology and providing the business develop-ment services that MEs need in order to grow and become part of the mainstream economy. “We like to go beyond financing livelihood needs,” Vistan says. “We try to set up linkage programs--linkage to the market, to suppliers, or to technology provid-ers.” Whenever possible, PMEF also tries to provide financial advice to MFIs who want to broaden their range of financial options.

PMEF also goes the extra mile to push microfinance into arenas it still does not reach. For instance, de-spite its growth in recent years, microfinance barely touches the rural areas, where majority of the poor and the poorest of the poor reside. Because of the risks involved in agriculture-based ventures, and the lack of infrastructure and services in the rural areas, the bulk of MFIs’ resources are invested in urban areas, where clients’ loan repayment is better assured. For rural-based enterprises that show potential for growth, there are few takers. PMEF pushes its partners to these frontier areas that are hungry for capital and technical assistance.

the Season AheadPMEF works hard to assure its own financial sustainabil-ity. It seeks grants from bilateral and multilateral lending agencies, earns modest interest from the loan funds that it accesses and on-lends to MFIs, and tries to procure “social investments” from individuals or organizations interested in doing specific enterprise projects. It tries to ensure its own sustainability so that it can continue rendering a valuable service to ME’s through MFIs.

Vistan says, “We hope to be the go-to institution when it comes to identifying or putting together a program of helping promising micro-entrepreneurs prosper.” By spotting enterprises that can go beyond a livelihood activ-ity’s precarious infancy stage and connecting these prom-ising ventures to MFIs and other service providers that will help them become viable, Vistan hopes PMEF will be able to contribute in a vital way to growing micro-enterprise.

people Collaborating for the Micro-entrepreneur“We have planted the seeds,” Vistan says of PMEF’s three and a half years. Although PMEF’s impact has still been limited, the attention that it is beginning to attract from institutions like the World Bank, JICA, the DSWD, and big corporations like Petron and San Roque Power Corporation (see accompanying article) is an encouraging sign, he says.

“But what I'm happy about,” he notes, “is that people who want to do something can collaborate with one another because they share this common goal… Efforts like this can never be anything but a welcome initiative. It should always be seen as a sign that the more fortunate members of society are willing to put in time, put in effort, put in resources even to try and show that again the micro-entrepreneur does not deserve pity or charity, that she deserves a break by way of providing her capital, by way of a program to make her self-reliant.”

20

Partnerships to Plant New SeedsSince 2007, PinoyME Foundation (PMEF)has been doing uphill work to nourish

the pMeF-SMeC Credit lineUsing its modest capital base, PMEF has acquired a credit line from the Small and Medium Enterprise Credit (SMEC) line admin-istered by the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP). The SMEC-PMEF credit line is currently serving seven large and medium-sized MFIs, all of which operate in the rural areas.

Using this credit line, these MFIs have been able to serve an additional 11,500 clients in the last two years, with an estimated total loan drawdown of PhP104.5 million and an aggregate outstanding balance of PhP65 million. Thus far, the SMEC portfolio has a 100% repayment rate.

the Social Investment Fund Through the Social Investment Fund (SIF), a special fund to which ordinary citizens and organizations are invited to donate, PMEF has been able to help viable rural ME’s through MFIs. Examples are: financing the construc-tion of poultry houses of small broiler contract growers assisted by the award-winning Katilingbanong Pamah-andi sa Mindanao Foundation Inc. (this broiler contract growing enterprise is organically linked to a large busi-ness chain, and is adding much to the income of farmers who grow these broilers); beefing up the working capital of the Laua-an Multi-Purpose Cooperative’s muscovado sugar production enterprise in Lau-an, Antique--another promising rural enterprise with stable links to the market; helping MEs of the Nueva Segovia Consortium of Coop-eratives in the remote area of Cervantes, La Union, who were badly affected by typhoon Pepeng.

The SIF has already grown to PhP2 million. The first clients who were supported by this fund (Laua-an Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Antique and the Nueva Segovia Consortium of Cooperatives in La Union) have already repaid their loans. The collections will now be re-lent to other deserving MEs in rural areas.

Pin

oyM

E Fo

un

dat

ion

partnerships in new terrain.


Cultivating Citizens’ “Investments” for the SIFAlthough the tumultuous national events in the last three years did not provide a hospitable climate for fo-cusing the nation’s attention on micro-enterprise, PMEF continues to look for ways to engage the support of private citizens in various sectors.

Some of these efforts are resulting in heartening and creative response.

A Corporation Accenture, a Philippine corporation engaged in business process outsourcing, donated PhP1 million, which PMEF will manage under the SIF. This will be used for a micro-enter-prise development program for Accenture’s 400 janitorial and security provider employees.

A “barkada”PMEF’s inclusion in the donation portal of PhilDev Forum USA (a US foundation that culti-vates diaspora philanthropy for Philippine causes) yielded a donation from the “Broadway Barkada,” a group of New York-based Filipino-American artists who held a benefit Christmas concert in 2010 for the victims of Typhoon Pepeng, and for microenteprise ventures sup-ported by PinoyME.

A group of college students In September 2010, a group of college students from the Ateneo de Manila University embarked on “Project 50,” a thesis and fundraising campaign to encourage student support for micro enterprise. The campaign sold multi-colored eggs in exchange for a P50 donation to the poultry businesses of Bukidnon farmers assisted by the MFI Katilingbanong Pamahandi sa Mindanao Foundation Inc. (KPMFI). Project 50 raised PhP 54,900 for the backyard poultry farmers of KPMFI.

A corporation, a “barkada,” a group of college students three encouraging examples of peoples’ initiatives to support micro enterprise. It is stories like this that PMEF hopes to multiply. In the future, it hopes to create more pathways where ordinary citizens can sow seeds for enterprise.

22

Micro-enterprise Development with Corporate Foundations under the SIF Responding to institutions that express interest setting up livelihood programs for poor client communities, PMEF also enters into strategic opportunities for micro-enterprise development. Acting as a catalyst and partnership builder, it enters together with others into the nitty-gritty of assembling community enterprise develop-ment programs from the ground up.

Two initiatives of this nature are ongoing. One is for the communities along the fenceline of the Petron Bataan Refinery in Limay, Bataan. Petron Foundation had approached PMEF for help in developing livelihood options for these communities. Another is for families that were relocated as a result of the construction of the San Roque Power Dam in San Manuel, Pangas-inan. The San Roque Power Corporation (SRPC) had likewise asked for PinoyME’s help, specifi-cally to act as enterprise adviser to its nascent SRPC Foundation.

Because the vision is to bring about progress rooted in the empowerment of the commu-nity’s residents, both of these projects use the Community-Driven Development (CDD) -- a strategy that is used extensively by institutions like the World Bank, the Department of International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom, and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). The strategy puts emphasis on the empowerment of the community’s residents and provides training

and assistance that they might be able to plan, run, and co-fund various community projects, including livelihood activities. In this integrated community development approach, enterprise is woven. For the communities in San Manuel, Pangasinan, the approach of Sustainable Livelihood (introduced by the Brundtland Commission) is also a part of the intervention strategy.

To bring the needed CDD expertise into the mix, PMEF and its partners in both projects (Petron Foundation in Limay Bataan and the SRPC Foundation in Pangasinan) linked up with the government’s Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). The DSWD is a veteran of the CDD approach, having successfully imple-mented KALAHI-CIDDSS (Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive Integrated Delivery of Social Services) --a CDD project with financial assistance from the World Bank -- in 4,000 barangays all over the country. With the entry of DSWD into these pilots, the efforts become even more riveting, as scale replication and institutionalization become a distinct possibility.

The two programs have been running for some months now--with DSWD providing the CDD technology and expertise, PMEF and its partners providing the enterprise development component (a large part of which is subcon-tracted to Kaunlaran ng Manggagawang Pilipino or KMPI, an NGO that specializes in enterprise development), and the corporate foundations providing vital support.

PMEF is offering the same approach to other companies that are thinking of promoting livelihood opportunities in their beneficiary communities. If these creative partner-ships flourish, they will be planting the seeds of a new kind of enterprise: one that is closely intertwined with commu-nity development and empowerment, one that is culti-vated in tandem with other sectors—very possibly a more potent variety that will help the concerted bid to uproot poverty.

Pin

oyM

E Fo

un

dat

ion


Wider GardensThe experiences in Limay, Bataan and San Manuel, Pangasinan have led to even wider grounds of opportunity.

In 2010, the World Bank asked PMEF to design an enterprise development program within a CDD setting. Already deep into the CDD-enter-prise programs in Limay and San Manuel, PMEF was quickly able to construct what it called the Community Driven Enterprise Development Program (CDED) through its partnership with DSWD in these very areas.

The DSWD--urgently looking to strengthen its anti-poverty strategies--seized upon the CDED and immediately adopted it as a new compo-nent of its welfare and development program.

To add to an already exciting season, PMEF will be working with the Japan International Coop-eration Agency (JICA) to consult MFIs and NGOs with BDS expertise on how to improve the CDED, and how they can partner with DSWD in implementing it. With JICA assistance, PMEF and its partner MFIs and NGOs will also prepare a manual for CDED implementation and work together to train the DSWD staff in managing the CDED.

The rich learning from the PinoyME consortium working groups serves as vital input for PMEF as it employs innovative strategies on the ground. PMEF hopes to fertilize the soil it has seeded with the partnership of other institutions that are interested to build this expanding garden of opportunities - opportunities to lift the poor out of poverty through micro entrepreneurship.

24

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORTWe have audited the accompanying financial statements of PinoyME Foundation, Inc. (a nonstock, nonprofit organization), which comprise the statements of financial position as at June 30, 2010 and 2009, and the statements of revenues and expenses, statements of comprehensive income, statements of net assets and statements of cash flows for the years then ended, and a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory information.

Management’s Responsibility for the Financial Statements Management is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of these financial statements in ac cordance with Philippine Financial Reporting Standards, and for such internal control as management deter mines is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

Auditors’ Responsibility Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits. We conducted our audits in accordance with Philippine Standards on Auditing. Those standards require that we comply with ethical requirements and plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance whether the financial statements are free from material misstatement.

An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The procedures selected depend on the auditor’s judgment, including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the entity’s preparation and fair pre sentation of the financial statements in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circum stances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity’s internal control. An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements.

We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion.

opinionIn our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of PinoyME Foundation, Inc. as of June 30, 2010 and 2009, and its financial performance and its cash flows for the years then ended in accordance with Philippine Financial Reporting Standards.

25

PINOYME FOUNDATION, INC.(A Nonstock, Nonprofit Organization)STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION June 30

2010 2009

26

the pinoyMe Foundation finances the operations of both the foundation and the pinoyMe consortium. It is the leGAl holder of all grants received for the projects of the consortium.

ASSETS Current Assets Cash and cash equivalents (Notes 4, 14 and 15) 4,227,171 10,402,874Current portion of loans and receivables (Notes 5, 14 and 15) 36,418,963 7,966,427Available-for-sale financial assets (Notes 6, 14 and 15) 0 800,424 Total Current Assets 40,646,134 19,169,725

Noncurrent Assets Noncurrent portion of loans and receivables (Notes 5, 14 and 15) 12,812,724 4,009,425Available-for-sale financial assets (Notes 6, 14 and 15) 9,341,597 3,200,599Office equipment - net (Note 7) 47,325 67,598 Total Noncurrent Assets 22,201,646 7,277,622 62,847,780 26,447,347LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS Current Liabilities Accounts payable and accrued expenses (Notes 8, 14 and 15) 273,115 168,443Current portion of loans payable (Notes 9, 14 and 15) 35,556,646 7,878,968 Total Current Liabilities 35,829,761 8,047,411

Noncurrent Liability Noncurrent portion of loans payable (Notes 9, 14 and 15) 12,742,252 3,863,464 Total Liabilities 48,572,013 11,910,875

Net Assets Restricted net assets (Note 13) 13,967,159 14,536,472Unrealized gain on available-for-sale financial assets (Note 6) 308,608 0 Total Net Assets 14,275,767 14,536,472 62,847,780 26,447,347

*The auditor's notes to the financial statement are available upon request to the PinoyME Foundation.

June 30

2010 2009

REVENUE Interest - net of final tax of 158,823 in 2010 and 181,175 in 2009 (Notes 4, 5 and 6) 5,085,377 1,386,411Donations (Note 11) 3,753,648 2,031,504Other income 81,316 369,516 8,920,341 3,787,431

EXPENSES (Note 12) Salaries and wages (Note 10) 4,193,500 4,123,888Interest expense (Note 9) 2,186,730 364,524Advertising and promotions 942,189 489,173Guarantee fee (Note 9) 612,970 87,420Utilities 426,121 199,454Transportation and travel 162,819 209,530Printing and publication 122,530 105,600Training and seminars 107,415 161,971Validation fees (Note 12) 104,421 0Professional fees 74,667 129,800Entertainment, amusement and recreation 63,311 74,578Depreciation (Note 7) 44,263 37,799Office supplies 42,524 26,782 Repairs and maintenance 23,923 23,140Taxes and licenses 13,112 15,590Membership dues 12,538 15,700Miscellaneous 356,621 65,173 9,489,654 6,130,122EXCESS OF EXPENSES OVER REVENUES (569,313) (2,342,691)

PINOYME FOUNDATION, INC.(A Nonstock, Nonprofit Organization)STATEMENTS OF REVENUES AND EXPENSES

PINOYME FOUNDATION, INC.(A Nonstock, Nonprofit Organization)STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME EXCESS OF EXPENSES OVER REVENUES 2010 (569,313) 2009 (2,342,691)

OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME Changes in fair values of available-for-sale financial assets (Note 6) 2010 308,608 2009 0

TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE LOSS 2010 (260,705) 2009 (2,342,691)

PINOYME FOUNDATION, INC.(A Nonstock, Nonprofit Organization)STATEMENTS OF NET ASSETS

NET ASSETS AT BEGINNING OF YEAR 2010 14,536,472 2009 16,879,163

TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE LOSS 2010 (260,705) 2009 (2,342,691)

NET ASSETS AT END OF YEAR 2010 14,275,767 2009 14,536,472


PINOYME FOUNDATION, INC.(A Nonstock, Nonprofit Organization)STATEMENTS OF NET ASSETS

PINOYME FOUNDATION, INC.(A Nonstock, Nonprofit Organization)STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES Excess of expenses over revenues (569,313) (2,342,691)Adjustments for: Interest income (5,085,377) (1,386,411) Interest expense 2,186,730 364,524 Depreciation (Note 7) 44,263 37,799Operating loss before changes in working capital (3,423,697) (3,326,779)Changes in operating assets and liabilities: Increase in loans and receivables (37,091,793) (11,730,621)Increase (decrease) in Accounts payable and accrued expenses 104,672 (3,238)Advances from related parties 0 (25,760)Net cash used for operations (40,410,818) (15,086,398)Interest received 4,921,335 1,293,188Net cash used in operating activities (35,489,483) (13,793,210)

CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES Proceeds from maturity of available-for-sale financial assets (Note 6) 4,221,699 3,233,907Acquisitions of available-for-sale financial assets (Note 6) (9,253,665) (4,228,182)Acquisitions of office equipment (Note 7) (23,990) (16,000)Net cash used in investing activities (5,055,956) (1,010,275)

CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES Proceeds from availment of loans (Note 9) 62,000,000 15,000,000Loan repayments (Note 9) (25,345,635) (3,181,548)Interest paid (2,284,629) (364,524)Net cash provided by financing activities 34,369,736 11,453,928

NET DECREASE IN CASH AND CASHEQUIVALENTS

2010 (6,175,703)

2009 (3,349,557)

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AT BEGINNING OF YEAR

2010 10,402,874

2009 13,752,431

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AT END OF YEAR (Note 4)

2010 4,227,171

2009 10,402,874

June 30

2010 2009

Audited by SYCIP GORRES VELAYO & Co.

Medel T. Nera Partner CPA Certificate No. 31835

28

Camilla Dizon of Capaz, Tarlac is always looking for ways to in-crease income. Although she and her husband already receive a monthly allowance of P2,000-P5,000 from their son who works in Dubai, they continue to cultivate their 1.5 hectare palay farm. According to her, the farm is good for two cropping seasons, and can generate an average of 160 sacks of palay per harvest.

Farming Plus

Teodora Solis just keeps on going. Though widowed, with four children already married and a fifth already employed, Mrs Solis is on her 8th year as a contract sewer of stuffed toy accesso-ries. She is from Capas, Tarlac, but supplies a company based in Manila. Her income is based on output, and she averages a mere

Tough Stuff

Unpredictable weather and other factors make farming a risky business. This is why Marcelina Solomon and her husband Rob-ert have various income generating activities. Their 1 hectare farmland is dedicated to assorted vegetables, from which they are able to generate P 15,000-P30,000 every 4 months, depend-ing on the type of vegetable in season. They also have a 2-year old sow that recently delivered 13 piglets. Robert also earns

Multiple Options

Cakes, catering and credit have taken Flora Ubaldo a long, long way. A resident of Vigan City, Ilocos Sur, Flora has been operating a bakeshop and small eatery for over 17 years now. Her business is located in a building along Del Pilar Street, with the store outlet on the first floor, and her production area (with 10 employees) on the second floor. According to her husband, Jowin Ubaldo, business is brisk. They are gen-erating sales of 10 to 20 cakes or more per day, with prices

Recipe for Success

Lydia Cayanan has persevered. Even after her husband died, she continued to operate her furniture business in Guagua, Pampanga, carving her own market niche against all odds. Over the years, her shop, “Lydia Cayanan Furnitures”, has provided the means for her 4 children to finish college. Today she continues to do very well. Her total sales for the

Carving a Niche in the Market

Micro-entrepreneurs in Focus


But Mrs. Dizon does not stop there. She is also raising goats on the farm, and presently has a stock of 300 heads. This translates to a hefty P1,000-P1,500 per head during the marketing period. Mrs.Dizon has been a client of ASKI-PinoyME since 2005, and has an existing loan of

P35,000. By refusing to be passive, people like Mrs. Dizon are showing how farming can be a viable enterprise even for those with small landholdings.

P1,000-1,500 per month. However, aside from this, she also makes folding beds which she sells at P480 per piece—making a profit of P230 each. She is able to sell 2-5 pieces per week, making an additional weekly income of around P500-1,000.

Mrs Solis has been a client of ASKI-PinoyME since 2005, and has an existing loan of P40,000. With the way she continues to work, that loan will certainly not be her last.

P250 per day driving his own tricycle. Not to be outdone, Marcelina operates a sari-sari store in front of their house beside the barangay road. Ac-cording to her, the store is able to generate gross sales of P500 daily.

A client of Pag-Inupdanay, Inc-PinoyME, Marcelina is now on her 6th loan cycle, with a loan amounting

ranging from P600 (for an ordinary cake) to P2,500 (for a special cake). But that’s not all. The enterprising couple is also engaged in catering for birthdays, weddings and other occasions.

The Ubaldos are long-time clients of NSCC-PinoyME. They have successfully completed over 10 loan cycles, their current one worth P150, 000.

Over the years, their businesses have enabled them to provide for their 5 children. Two of the children are already registered nurses, while the rest are in high school or elementary school. Their business has also enabled them to provide regular employment for ten people.

For the Ubaldos, success has been undoubtedly sweet.

month of January 2010, for instance, amounted to P148,700, yielding a net income of P 43,327. Not only has she been able to provide for her children, she has also been able to provide jobs to six carpenters and ten carvers who help her run her business. She relies exclusively on

Kazama Grameen-PinoyME for her credit, and was recently granted a loan of P14,000, her 4th loan cycle. Lydia Cayaman will undoubtedly continue to do well, and with a steady source of credit, will continue to carve her rightful place in the sun.

Micro-entrepreneurs in Focus

30

to P16,000. This amount was used to purchase a carabao, which is now being used for land prepara-tion.The Solomons are happy with this, because now they no longer need to hire outside help for this task. Their self-sufficiency is growing.

With a steady source of credit, what will they think of next?

Brokenshire CollegeCavite State University Central Luzon State UniversityCollege of Immaculate ConceptionNotre Dame Business Resource CenterUniversity of IloiloUniversity of Makati UP-Institute of Small Scale Industries

BusinessAccentureABS-CBN PublicationsAyala CorporationBank of the Philippine IslandsBankers Association of the PhilippinesDirectories Philippines CorporationFeria Tantoco Robeniol Santiago Law OfficesGlobe TelecomsMapcentralMakati Business ClubManagement Association of the PhilippinesMaybridge AsiaMetrobankOne Asia TouchpointPHINMAPlanters Development BankPhilippine Long Distance Telephone CompanySan Miguel CorporationSan Roque Power CorporationSMART CommunicationsSme.comSycip Gorres and VelayoUCPB - CIIF

Government AgenciesAgricultural Credit Policy CouncilBangko Sentral ng Pilipinas - Microfinance UnitCocofinanceDepartment of Agrarian ReformDepartment of Finance-National Credit CouncilDepartment of Social Welfare and DevelopmentDepartment of Trade and Industry - Bureau of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development

LPAD- Luxembourg - Philipines Action for DevelopmentDual Training System Network FoundationEconomic Resource Center for Overseas FilipinosEchostoreFundacion CODESPAGifts and Graces Fair Trade FoundationGrameen Foundation USAHanns Seidel FoundationHapinoyInnovations for Poverty ActionInsol Development FoundationJohn J. Carroll Institute for Church and Social IssuesJosefa Segovia FoundationLeague of Corporate FoundationsMetrobank FoundationMicrofinance Innovation Center for Resource and AlternativesNational Confederation of CooperativesNormin VeggiesNinoy and Cory Aquino FoundationPetron FoundationPunla sa Tao FoundationPeace & Equity FoundationPhilippine Business for Social ProgressPhilippine Development Assistance ProgramPhilippine Development Forum, USAPLDT-SMART FoundationPPAI-Family Farm SchoolProject 50Rafael B. Buenaventura FoundationSAFRUDISimbayanan ni Maria Multi-Purpose CooperativeSDC AsiaSM FoundationSmall Enterprises Research and Development Foundation Inc

AcademeAraullo UniversityAsian Institute of Management -Center for Development ManagementBicol University

Microfinance InstitutionsAd Jesum Development Foundation, Inc.ASA PhilippinesAlay BuhayAlalay Sa Kaunlaran, Inc.Center for Agriculture and Rural Development - Mutually Reinforcing InstitutionsCCT Credit CooperativeCebu Micro-Enterprise Development Foundation Inc.Hagdan Sa Pag-Uswag Foundation, Inc.Kabalikat Para sa Maunlad na Buahy. Inc. Katilingbanong Pamahandi sa Mindanaw Foundation, Inc.Kasagana Ka Development CenterKazama Grameen, Inc.Laua-an Multi-Purpose CooperativeNueva Segovia Consortium of CooperativesTaytay sa Kauwagan, Inc.Pag-Inupdanay, Inc.Uplift Philippines

Microfinance NetworksAPPENDBicol Microfinance CouncilCentral Luzon Microfinance CouncilMicrofinance Council of the PhilippinesMindanao Microfinance CouncilVisayas Association of MFIs

Foundations, Non-government Organizationsand Social EnterprisesAdvocate of Philippine Fair Trade, Inc.AgriterraAlter Trade FoundationAng-Hortaleza FoundationAssociation of Negros ProducersAyala FoundationBalay Mindanaw FoundationBroadway BarkadaCatholic Relief ServicesCenter for Small EntrepreneursCommunity Crafts Association of the PhilippinesCFC Luxembourg

PinoyME Partners

31 PinoyME at 5: People Power Against Poverty : AnnuAl RepoRt 2010

PinoyME Consortium Steering CommitteeDr. Jaime Aristotle AlipManaging Director, CARD - MRI

Ronald ChuaProfessor, Asian Institute of Management

Amb. Howard DeeChair, Assisi Development Foundation

Josias dela CruzVice-President for Microfinance, Bank of the Philippine Islands

Victoria GarchitorenaPresident, Ayala Foundation

Atty. Ramon GarciaCorporate Secretary, Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation

Edward GoChair, ASA Philippines Foundation

PinoyME Foundation StaffDanilo A. SongcoPresident and CEO

Andres Ruba, Jr.Credit and Investment Officer

Gaudencio Salonga, Jr.Finance and Administration Officer

Lailani ConcepcionTechnical Assistant

Agnes BalatayoFinance and Administration Assistant

Jose Carlos EncisaAdministrative Assistant

32

Development Bank of the PhilippinesNational Economic Developent AuthorityNational Anti-Poverty CommissionPeople’s Credit and Finance CorporationPhilippine Institute for Development Studies

Bilateral/Multilateral Agencies/ProgramsJapan International Cooperation AgencyUSAID-Microfinance Access to Banking ServicesWorld Bank

IndividualsJan Chavez-ArceoSumit BagchiJoey BermudezDr. Ma. Piedad GeronEdmund A. GoBart GuingonaDr. Gilbert LlantoAnthony PetalcorinRonna Reyes-SiehRuban TangcoErwin Tiongson

Daniel Lacson, Jr.Chairman Emeritus, Negros Navigation

Manuel PangilinanChair, Philippine Long Distance Company

Amb. Albert del RosarioFormer Philippine Ambassador to the United States Ramon del Rosario, Jr.President and CEO, PHINMA Group

Aniceto SobrepeñaPresident, Metrobank Foundation

Washington SycipFounder, Sycip, Gorres and Velayo

Amb. Jesus TambuntingChair and President, Planters Development Bank

Veronica VillavicencioExecutive Director, Peace and Equity Foundation

Deogracias VistanPresident, Creamline

pinoyme foundation board of · pdf filepinoyme foundation board of trustees chair emeritus...

Documents