RestartME announces Php40 million lending program to help 25,000 MSMEs recover from COVID-19 pandemic
by Mel Gabuya
Restart Micro-Enterprise Inc. (RestartME) with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and in partnership with Chemonics International (Project DELIVER) is administering the Php40 million C-19 Loan Fund for livelihood recovery of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) under REVIVE MFI-Ph PROJECT.
Launched on 21 October 2020, Revive MFI-Ph Project aims to finance and facilitate the business recovery of large microfinance institutions in the Philippines that were heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the project, MSMEs will be able to access the C-19 fund through accredited MFI branches and use the loan to restart their livelihood and to sustain their operations. These MFIs are ASA Philippines Foundation, Center for Agriculture and Rural Development Inc. (CARD Inc.), Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation (NWTF), and Taytay sa Kauswagan Inc. (TSKI).
“Many MSMEs had to close due to the enhanced community quarantine while those that remained open suffered from severe drop in sales. The low repayment and slowdown in lending activities also affected the income of MFIs as they tried to sustain their operations during the crisis”, RestartME President Rapa Lopa said.
The new funding aims to support MFIs to recover from the crisis by continuing their lending activities and by meeting the increasing demand of clients for loans amid the pandemic.
“We acknowledge the vast effects of this pandemic to our partners and their clients. We had an initial loan assistance distributed early on when the lockdowns were imposed, but it was not enough. This partnership with USAID and Chemonics will reduce the economic burden of COVID-19 on businesses and prevent them from closing permanently while the economy recovers”, Lopa added.
The disbursement of the C-19 Fund among qualified microenterprise clients of accredited MFI branches was completed in April 2021, serving up to 3,354 microenterprise sub-borrowers until the end of Revive MFI-Ph project in February 2022.
“Revive MFI-Ph presents an opportunity to understand the changing economic and financial trends of the Philippine MFI industry. The new funding will help address the urgent financing needs of MSMEs, and eventually contribute to making our Nanays and Tatays more resilient and self-reliant”, RestartME Executive Director Aika Robredo said.
RestartME’s work began in 2013 following the massive devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan in the Visayas region. Since then, the organization has provided loan assistance to their partner MFIs and affected MSMEs whose portfolios have been compromised by typhoons, volcanic eruptions and the ISIS backed siege in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, Mindanao.