Rural Microenterprise Finance Project

With funds from the Asian Development Bank and IFAD, the project provided access to credit and other financial services for some of the country’s poorest people. The objective, in accordance with the priorities of the Government of the Philippines, was to create employment opportunities and increase the incomes of extremely poor people in rural areas.

The Grameen Bank approach proved to be an effective alternative to formal financial institutions in the Philippines, providing credit and savings facilities for rural poor people, particularly women, through self-help groups. The project:

• increased availability of credit through self-help groups for investment in microenterprises to generate income and employment
• expanded formation and strengthening of self-help groups
• promoted savings schemes
• strengthened the groups’ institutional capacity to provide simple and accessible financial services
• helped develop a self-sustaining financial system by establishing a nationwide network on the Grameen banking model, comprised of NGOs, local banks, cooperatives, foundations and other organizations
• promoted policy reform to stimulate growth and development of financial services for poor people

Source: IFAD

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In this section Project overview Documents Contact information Mr Sana Jatta Country programme manager IFAD Via Paolo di Dono, 44 00142 Rome, Italy Tel: +39 0654592446 Fax: +39 0654593446 s.jatta@ifad.org Facts and figures Total cost: US$64.8 million IFAD loan: US$14.7 million Duration: 1996-2002 Geographical area: nationwide, with a focus on areas in 19 priority provinces  Directly benefiting: about 300,000 households Cofinancing: Asian Development Bank (US$20.0 million) Status: closed Partners People's Credit and Finance Corporation (PCFC) Asian Development Bank (AsDB)