The Philippine Government has requested the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to
provide support for the promotion of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), in conjunction with
the implementation of the SME Development Plan 2004—2010. The Government considers
development of SMEs as central to employment and income generation and further promotion
of a sound and broad-based private sector. ADB’s involvement in SME sector policy dialogue
has been extensive since 1999 which has facilitated the design of the Philippine Small and
Medium-Sized Enterprise Development Support Project, currently under processing. This
technical assistance (TA) is integral to the strengthening of risk management in SME finance
and the promotion of product innovation by SME financial service providers. This TA has been designed with the full cooperation and participation of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Small Business Guarantee and Finance Corporation (SB Corp). 1
