NABUNTURAN, Davao de Oro—About 200 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the province have already availed of loans for their businesses under the Bayanihan Covid-19 Assistance to Restart Enterprises (CARES) program of the Small Business Corp. (SBC) since last year.
According to Atty. Lucky Siegfred M. Balleque, Provincial Director of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) here, the amount of loans granted to the said local entrepreneurs already reached around P12 million as of June 2021.
Based on the figure provided by the SBC personnel stationed at DTI-Davao de Oro, P3.5 million of the loaned amount was released during the first semester of this year to the 36 MSMEs from all over the province. Last year P7.7 million was availed of by 161 MSMEs in Davao de Oro.
The Bayanihan CARES is an interest-free and collateral-free financing program that aims to assist MSMEs recover from the adverse effects of the pandemic. The MSMEs that have been operating for one year may apply for a loan amount of at least P10,000 to P5 million. They may also enjoy a flexible payment scheme wherein they will be provided with a grace period of up to 12 months, with no collateral required, plus zero interest.
To apply for the Bayanihan CARES loan, those who have no Financial Statements filed with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) must have a government-issued ID, bank or electronic money account, 2019 and 2020 barangay or mayor’s business permit, three pictures and one video showing the financial condition and assets of the business. All these documents should be scanned for an online application.
To apply online, the loan applicant should create an account in the SBC web site http://www.BayanihanCARES.ph and supply the required personal details.
Balleque shared that the loan applicants must strictly follow the instructions provided in the web site or those sent to their e-mail. He likewise encouraged interested MSMEs to contact their office, or the nearest Negosyo Center, for loan application assistance.
Apart from facilitating the loan application of the local entrepreneurs, DTI-Davao de Oro has been assisting them as well in other areas, such as in product development and branding improvement.
“Even before the pandemic, we were already conducting several training programs for them. We had extended a hand, too, when it comes to honing their managerial skills. Our approach is really anchored on holistic development. We want to equip them in whatever way we can,” Balleque noted, adding that with the global health crisis, they have become more innovative in assisting the MSMEs in the province.
“We really assess their needs and from there, we can already identify the kind of assistance we can give them,” the provincial DTI head said.
From January to June this year, the office has already assisted a total of 2,532 MSMEs. In the meantime, it has already conducted 66 trainings, benefitting 1,391 local entrepreneurs.
Image courtesy of DTI-Region 11