I am not really a distressed enterprise, but I need information.
I am a dried fish retailer from Tagum City, with two stalls in the New Tagum Public Market. At first, I wanted to deal in rice, as I come from a rice-dealing family. However, the woman from whom I bought one of the stalls insisted I sold dried fish as she had liabilities to settle with her supplier of dried fish in Davao City. It didn’t take long for me to realize how lucrative dried fish retailing is. A kilogram of dried fish turned out a profit of P25.00 while a 50-kg sack of rice fetched only P50.
I also found out before long that dried fish suppliers were making good money. One day my husband asked: “Why don’t we manufacture dried fish?” He spent a week among daing makers in Zamboanga. When he came home he reported the process was easy.
So we are now determined to set up a daing making operation in General Santos City. We have a small savings and my mother has agreed to lend us a little more. However, we need more capital.
I have given up borrowing from 5-6 operators. We have tried to borrow from a commercial bank and a rural bank but the requirements are tedious. We have heard about micro finance institutions. Do you have information about MFIs and their requirements and procedures?
Thank you in advance for your assistance.
Flora S.
Tagum City
Dear Flora S.
You are in the right track in considering borrowing from micro finance institutions.
In your area, in Mindanao, there are a number of micro finance institutions willing to extend loans to small businesses like yours. These include the Enterprise Bank (EB)and the Kabalikat sa Maunlad na Buhay, Inc. (KMBI).
Typically, you have to sign on as a member and be a part of a group or what is usually known as a center group
However, do not expect to be lent a big amount, at least not initially. You have to establish your borrowing/repaying record.
By definition, a microfinance loan is a “ladder-type” loan where a borrower could start from the minimum loan amount until he or she reaches a particular “cycle” or level where the borrower could avail of a bigger loan.
At first, you may be approved for P10 thousand, P20 T if you are lucky. As you prove yourself a worthy borrower, the amount that can be borrowed increases with every loan cycle completed, until you can borrow up to P200 thousand, perhaps a bit more.
Processing of loans is fast and paper requirements are minimal. Repayment of the loan is spread out thinly – you pay on a daily basis to a collector who goes around your area.
Because a microfinance loan or micro-loan is unsecured and character-based, some MFIs like Village Microfinance, the microfinance arm of Producers Rural Banking Corp., prefer borrowers with existing businesses.
Here are some contact numbers that may be useful to you:
ENTERPRISE BANK , INC.
Poblacion, Lianga, Surigao del Sur
(085)8392050; 8390351; 8393334
Contact Mr. Ignacito U. Alvizo, President
KABALIKAT PARA SA MAUNLAD NA BUHAY
Abrille Bldg., J.P Laurel cor Jacinto St., Davao City
(0917)8516178
Contact Mr. Edgar S. Mercedes, Operations Manager
KALISUD MO TABANGAN KO MICROENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT FOR COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, INC. (KMTK-MEDEVCO)
Unit 410, LANDCO Bldg., J.P Laurel Ave., Davao City
(085)8392050; 8390351; 8393334
Contact Mr. Ignacito U. Alvizo, President
For a directory of MFIs, click on this link.