SB Corp eyes P1-B lending to Mindanao

The Small Business Corp. (SB Corp.) is aiming to surpass the P1-billion accumulated mark for its lending to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Mindanao by the end of this year.

SB Corp. is a government financial institution (GFI) attached to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

SB Corp. chairperson and chief executive officer Zorayda Amelia C. Alonzo expressed confidence in achieving the milestone considering that the aggregate lending to Mindanao SMEs from 2002 to June 2005 alone reached P930 million.

This figure covers wholesale and retail loans, benefiting roughly 5,000 entrepreneurs.

For the period January to June this year, Small Business Corp.’s total lending to Mindanao reached P239.59 million.

The bulk of the loans released to Mindanao SMEs went to Region 11 accounting for 68 percent of the amount released totaling P630 million, while regions 9, 10, 12, CARAGA and ARMM accounted for the remaining 23 percent or P300 million.

SB Corp. likewise established a desk office in Cagayan de Oro City to support the operational requirements of the existing Mindanao Area Office in Davao City. The Cagayan branch will cater to SMEs in Northern Mindanao, CARAGA, and the Zamboanga peninsula.

"Small Business Corp. is doing its best to provide better credit access to SMEs as far as those in the far-flung areas of Mindanao, and as a strategy to widen our reach, we partner with banks, NGOs, and other finance institutions," Alonzo added. – TPT