Zero interest loans available to Cebu farmers, MSMEs

THE Cooperative Bank of Cebu (CBC) and SB Corp. are officially now the new lender-partners of the Cebu Provincial Government’s Enhanced Countryside Development (ECD) program.Gov. Gwen Garcia on Thursday signed a memorandum of agreement with SB Corp. Visayas group head Francisco Buenavides and CBC chairman Farla Carolyn Garcia.The MOA signals a renewed implementation of the ECD program which aims to link financing access to farmers, fisherfolk, tourism business owners, and other micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Cebu province.As the banking arm of the Department of Trade and Industry, SB Corp. has committed to extend its loan facility, the Resilient Innovative and Sustainable Enterprises, Unleash your Powers or Rise Up to qualified farmers and MSMEs. SB Corp. offers microfinancing programs, including a zero-interest loan, through online loan facilities available to multi-sectoral MSMEs.The Cooperative Bank of Cebu will also extend credit with zero interest to farmer and fisherfolk-borrowers endorsed by the Capitol’s ECD technical working group that assesses and processes the loan applications through the Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) loan facility. CBC is one of the lending conduits of this program.With the new lender-partners, the processing and approval of loan applications will be expedited.“So I am so happy that, you know, when it is a rightful, just, and noble aim, we may hit snags along the way, but in the end I am very sure that God almighty always puts things in its proper place aron ato gyud makab-ot atong gilantaw nga goal alang sa pagtabang sa mga Sugbuanon,” Gov. Gwen said of this new partnership.The CBC chairman, for her part, pointed out the need “to serve the unserved, to bank the unbankables and to give hope to the hopeless.”“This (ECD) is a very important nga programa sa probinsya. With this program, makab-ot nato ang mga nanginahanglan pud ngadtu sa mga rural areas,” Buenavides said. He added that this partnership with the province also helps SB Corp. implement their programs in reaching out MSMEs in the rural areas.With the two lending facilities now joining in the efforts to pump prime countryside development, Garcia sees this as a crucial step towards the success of the program. / (CSL, PR)