SB Corp gets ODA funding

For the first time in its history, the Small Business Corp. (SB Corp.) has been extended an official development assistance (ODA) loan by two international financial institutions.

SB Corp. is an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) focused on lending to microfinance and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW) extended a total of P1.98 billion, which will be extended by SB Corp. for SMEs in the Philippine countryside.

The Manila-based ADB extended ¥2.75 billion (roughly P1.24 billion) specifically for the SME Development Support Project of SB Corp., which is part of the National Government’s SME development plan.

The KfW loan, worth euro 11.7 million (roughly P749 million), is specifically allocated for SMEs based in the Visayas and Mindanao.

"The two loans has enhanced the financial resources of SB Corp. and strengthens its capability to develop and deliver more credit programs to SMEs," SB Corp. chairperson Zorayda Amelia C. Alonzo said.

Alonzo indicated that SB Corp. will extend P850 million under its development finance programs, and another P2.9 billion under its SME wholesale lending program.

For the whole of 2006, the attached agency of the trade department will make available a total of P4.1 billion in loans and guarantees. Last year, it extended more than P3.2 billion, already a record level for the government agency. –TPT