Finex plans loan facility for SMEs

In a bid to promote the development of small and medium enterprises, the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (Finex) is planning to put up a fund which SMEs can tap for their projects.

At the induction of the 2003 Finex officers yesterday, newly-installed Finex president Edgardo Limon said the organization will contribute P1 million as seed capital to get the proposed fund off the ground.

This seed capital, Limon said, will be sourced from pledges of support from Finex’s members and other business executives. Limon said Finex has already received pledges totaling P300,000.

"I recognize that this initial seed capital is very modest in comparison to similar funds. But what is important is that we in Finex are determined to deploy these resources as quickly as possible... Equally important is the transfer of managerial expertise and the establishment of effective marketing, technological and financial linkages that will complement the funding program," Limon said.

To date, SMEs outnumber large companies. In terms of employment, the SME sector accounts for 67 percent of the labor force while large enterprise absorb the remaining 33 percent.

"We are addressing some of the problems of SMEs by offering the expertise of our members to help emerging entrepreneurs with the how-tos of starting a business including how and where to access financing," Finex said.

Finex is launching programs that will help local government units realize their role in helping SMEs within their areas. Corollary to this, the organization is looking at provisions within the Local Government Code that both the LGUs and the SMEs can use to their common advantage.

Two of the proposals that Finex is advocating are the privatization of tax collection and the issuance of municipal bonds. By privatizing tax collection, Finex said corruption is reduced to a minimum since it is in the interest of the private collection company that these taxes be paid.

On the other hand, the issuance of municipal bonds will allow LGUs to develop projects in real time. This means that LGUs won’t have to wait for the required funding to be saved or allocated to them by the National Government.

It is also bent on creating a climate of good governance in both the private and public sectors to make the country conducive to business activity.

Finex’s threefold vision is to make the community of finance executives a more pro-active partner in the promotion of SMEs, particularly in the countryside; to help create a climate of good governance in both the private and public sectors; and to forge a genuine transparent and productive alliance with government.

It is also looking at re-engineering and expanding its current operations towards operating as a full-fledged think tank and financial training institute, focusing particularly on assisting SMEs get past the start-up phase and achieve sustained viability.

Apart from its traditional role as a venue for the development of its members, and an advocate of economic, banking and finance issues, Finex is exploring new programs and activities that address emergent economic and political challenges.