This presentation reviews the demand of microfinance by the micro-enterprise sector in the Philippines. It reveals that the bottom 30% of poor Filipinos manage at least two micro-enterprise activities; of these, less than a fourth have access to credit.
The presentation discusses:
* Government initiatives in microfinance and their limited successes.
* Barriers to microfinance, that include,
o Perception that poor are high risk;
o High transaction costs;
o Regulatory barriers;
o Poor's feeling of intimidation by formal institutions;
o Lack of infrastructure and physical access to formal institutions.
* Laws and issuances supporting microfinance.
* Government's national strategy for microfinance.
Further, it reviews the activities and involvement in microfinance of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP), which has a 3-pronged approach:
* Creation of an enabling policy and regulatory environment;
* Increase in the capacity and skills of the BSP and the banking sector on microfinance;
* Promotion and advocacy.
Finally, the presentation discusses BSP's support to microfinance through:
* The establishment of microfinance-oriented banks;
* Policy and regulatory initiatives;
* Introduction of performance standards for institutions engaged in microfinance;
* Training and capacity building efforts;
* Promotion and advocacy campaigns and initiatives.
