Business groups to lend money to SMEs through microfinancing
Thursday, June 18, 2009
MANILA, Philippines – Businessmen have committed to helping Filipinos affected by the global economic crunch by lending money for capital to small scale entrepreneurs through microfinance activities.
“We have pushed corporate social responsibility (CSR) to the corporate sector for many years from the conferences that we have organized. We have seen CSR evolve as a practice and a responsibility in each corporation’s CSR strategy,” Marilou Erni, League of Corporate Foundations (LCF) chairman said.
“This year, although the corporate sector bears the burden of the economic crisis, we see it as the best time to pursue CSR and help microenterprises, who are most affected by today’s economic climate,” she added.
More than 850,000 jobs were generated last year from the government’s microfinance efforts. This number is a significant boost from the 289,449 jobs created in 2007. Furthermore, the loans provided in 2008 have amounted to P53.634 billion, a 48-percent increase from the P25.945 billion loaned in 2007.
