P3 Loans Breaches 110k Micro Entreps Assisted, P5.1B Loans Released

Over 110,000 micro entrepreneurs have been assisted even as P5.1 billion has been released through the Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso (P3) Program, which is being rolled out to the countryside to provide affordable and easy access loans to micro entrepreneurs.

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez said the P3 Program will continue without let up to achieve the Trabaho, Negosyo at Kabuhayan Agenda of the Duterte Administration.

“The P3 program was created so that even the smallest of entrepreneurs, like the sari-sari stores owners and market vendors, will have an opportunity to grow their business without the usurious 5-6 loans. I encourage all entrepreneurs in need of capital to avail of the P3 program through the DTI Negosyo Centers and accredited credit delivery partners,” said Sec. Lopez

As of December 23, 2019, the Small Business Corporation (SB Corp.), the micro financing arm of the DTI, has extended financing assistance through the P3 program to 110,006 micro entrepreneurs. Established as the government's flagship program with the aim to address loan sharks and their onerous loans, P3 has been widened to reach Filipinos throughout the countryside since its inception in 2017 to give them better access to financing.

The SB Corporation has also released a total of P5.15 billion worth of loans through partner micro finance institutes (MFIs). In July, the SB Corporation also introduced 10 Credit Delivery Partners (CDPs) from Luzon to Mindanao to deliver fast and efficiently P3 loans. The P3 Program also now has 412 micro financing institute (MFI) partners to reach rural and far-flung areas in the provinces.

The P3 program is a P1 billion loan financing program intended to give micro enterprises better access to finance, while providing them an alternative to the informal or 5-6 scheme of lending.

Meanwhile, the P3 program has reached out to Maranao entrepreneurs through the Bangon Marawi initiative and has released P7.5 million to 457 Maranao borrowers. Likewise, soldiers and policemen who were either wounded or killed in action during the Marawi siege were also provided assistance with a total of P31 million released to 412 soldiers and policemen, and their families.

The primary beneficiaries of the P3 Program are microenterprises and entrepreneurs that do not have easy access to credit, which include market vendors, agri-businessmen, members of cooperatives, and industry associations.

Under the P3 Program, a micro enterprise can borrow between P5,000 up to P200,000 depending on its business need and repayment capacity with no collateral requirement. Interest rate and service fees, all in, do not exceed 2.5% monthly.

The P3 Program serves as an alternative to the P30 billion “5-6” money lending industry that charges 20% nominal interest rate to MSMEs.

Bangon Marawi Pop-up Stores open at UP Town Center and Greenhills

Starting December 24, selected Marawi products will be available at UP Town Center, Quezon City and Greenhills Mall, San Juan City. Initiated by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) through its Task Force Bangon Marawi, the Bangon Marawi Pop-up stores will operate until June 23, 2020.

After the Marawi siege, the DTI has been active in assisting the Maranao entrepreneurs who were greatly affected by the crisis. The mounting of pop-up stores in major malls nationwide is part of the agency’s effort to provide opportunities to Marawi MSMEs and aspiring entrepreneurs.

The pop-up stores will offer a wide array of products such as brassware, home décor (baur, kulintang in different sizes), woven products, malongs and other wearables, pearls and costume jewelry.

The Bangon Marawi Pop-up store at the UP Town Center will be located at the Ground Floor, Phase 1 in front of Sports Barbers. Its store at Greenhills Mall will be temporarily located at the Cellphones & Gadgets Extension (Former Admin. Office), Level 2, until January 8, 2020 and will be transferred to the Home Decors Section near Chinabank starting January 9, 2020.

You may visit the stores from Mondays to Sundays during mall hours.

DTI, CARD RENEW P3 PARTNERSHIP WITH ADDITIONAL PHP100M FOR MSME MICROFINANCING

MAKATI -- The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) renewed its partnership with the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD), Inc., an NGO that provides microfinancing loans.

Through a Memorandum of Understanding signed last 16 December, CARD committed an additional PHP 100 million of its funds for Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso (P3) program. This brings CARD's total revolving fund for the P3 program since the partnership began in 2017 to PHP 300 million pesos, which it will lend out to other beneficiaries to widen the reach of the P3 program to more micro borrowers.

P3 is DTI's program that provides low-interest, no collateral loans for existing micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The program, managed by Small Business Corporation (SB Corp), is a response to President Rodrigo Duterte's directive to combat 5-6 loans. Through P3, entrepreneurs can borrow amounts from PHP 5,000 to PHP 200,000 from CARD and other accredited credit delivery partners.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said that DTI benefits from the partnership since CARD supplements the PHP 3.5 billion P3 allocation from the government with their own funds. CARD is also one of the biggest microfinance institutions in the Philippines, with 7 million borrowers nationwide.

Founder and Chairman Emeritus Dr. Jaime Aristotle Alip reported that CARD disbursed PHP 600 million in P3 loans to around 56,000 borrowers since 2017. He also said that CARD targets to increase its P3 allocation to PHP 100 million every year to reach 100,000 entrepreneurs.

Signing the agreement are (from L to R: ) SB Corp President Luna Cacanando, DTI Undersecretary Blesila Lantayona, DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez, CARD Founder Dr. Jaime Aristotle Alip, CARD Inc President Flordeliza Sarmiento and Executive Director Jocelyn Dequito. 

Design Center's Pinyapel earns D&AD pencil

Pasay City–The Philippine-made Pinyapel, a specialty paper made from discarded pineapple leaves, bagged a Wood Pencil at the D&AD Future Impact Awards 2019 in recognition of its potential to create a huge impact on environment and sustainability as it is proposed to be a food packaging alternative to single-plastic. The award will be presented in New York City, USA on November 6.  Industry professionals consider the D&AD pencil as equivalent to “career knighthood”.

With this recognition of Pinyapel, it will receive a D&AD Wood Pencil, a place on the D&AD Future Impact Accelerator programme, especially designed to accelerate Pinyapel’s development in order to deliver tangible impact in their category area within 12 months.  The D&AD Future Impact Programme supports great ideas that have the potential to change the world.

Winning a Wood Pencil also provides an opportunity for the Philippine team behind Pinyapel to pitch at the D&AD Festival 2020 to gain support from venture capitalists (VCs) and creatives, a pass to the D&AD Festival 2020, a dedicated space at the Impact exhibition in London, 12-month membership and a year of exposure to a global audience through D&AD and third-party press.

Design and Art Direction (D&AD) is a British non-profit that exists to celebrate, inspire, and nurture excellence in design and advertising in the United Kingdom and worldwide. More than just awards, D&AD has world-class training programmes, accelerator platform, and festival to support the industry towards creative excellence.

 “Pinyapel’s recognition in the international scene is a big leap in our move to promote Philippine design and innovation excellence. It highlights the Filipino brand of design point of view that is anchored in ‘malasakit’ which brings an authentic Filipino design perspective on developing impact-driven solutions that address the problems of today and of tomorrow, while protecting the future generations and ensuring a better future for them,” said Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon M. Lopez.

Pinyapel was the result of a research and development initiative led by the Design Center of the Philippines on pineapple leaves. After its breakthrough research on developing the material, it collaborated with Nature’s Fresh Pineapples for the supply of raw materials; CDO Handmade Paper, for paper sheet processing; and Ideatechs Packaging, Inc., for paper sheet conversion to food packaging applications.

The Pinyapel project was led by the Design Center’s materials research and development program, which aims to produce sustainable, cost-effective and commercially viable materials and contribute to strengthening local businesses.

Pinyapel is reflective of Design Center’s quadruple bottomline approach to circular design. The project began with the intent of maximizing the use of agricultural waste to improve the livelihood of farmers (prosperity), address concerns on dwindling natural resources and offer alternatives to plastic (planet); collaborate with local enterprises (people); and consequently, show the world what the creative and design mind of Philippines can do (purpose),”  said Design Center of the Philippines Executive Director Rhea O. Matute. “With the country’s desire for a more value creating economy, Design Center hopes to develop and unlock more commercialization opportunities for impactful ideas like Pinyapel,” Matute further shares.

Pinyapel production and use

Pinyapel is a specialty paper that is reinforced and print-viable for secondary packaging applications. It may also be used for gift bags, paper cup sleeves, and corrugated paper.

Production involves harvesting the discarded leaves from pineapple plantation, drying the leaves under direct sunlight, pulping and rinsing the cut leaves, and pounding the rinsed pulp. Reinforcing solutions are used to improve the mechanical properties of the material. Once dry, the paper sheets are either run in corrugating machines for corrugated paper and cup sleeves or cut out for paper bag production.

Pinyapel leaves during production and after consumer use can be used as raw materials to produce brown bags and cardboards.

With the challenges faced by the pulp and paper industry in sourcing pulp locally, Design Center’s move to develop Pinyapel and partner with local businesses provided an alternative and sustainable source for paper. It is also seen as an additional income source for farmers in the country’s large pineapple production area, with a total hectarage of 63,904 according to the Philippine Statistics Authority’s April -June 2019 Quarterly Bulletin on Major Fruit Crops; thus, providing new purpose and value to what was previously considered agricultural waste.

The Design Center’s materials research and development program has explored the potential of agricultural waste and otherwise overlooked resources as raw materials for various product applications, impacting the design and value of Philippine products.

DTI Remains Steadfast in Extending “Malasakit” to Marawi IDPs

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) together with other members of the Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) Subcommittee on Business and Livelihood continue to foster livelihood growth for internally displaced persons (IDPs) affected by the Marawi siege through the Kawiyagan program.

Dubbed as “Siyap sa Marawi, Gagaw ko Pagtao” (Pag-aalaga sa Marawi, Pagmamahal sa Kapwa), Kawiyagan is a series of distribution of livelihood assistance to the IDPs affected by the Marawi siege. The program is one of the TFBM’s initiatives in refreshing Marawi City’s illustrious business environment. Last August 22 marked the first anniversary of the Kawiyagan program since its launching on August 24, 2018.

During the program’s launching anniversary, DTI-10 Regional Director Linda Boniao emphasized its essence being an avenue not limited to the distribution of livelihood starter kits, but also a way to showcase the beneficiaries’ outputs, and how different agencies complement each other’s livelihood interventions.

Kawiyagan also ensures that livelihood programs will be immediately provided directly to the IDPs and it encourages other stakeholders to provide livelihood assistance to the IDPs. This ongoing initiative of the TFBM serves as an inspiration for the IDPs’ fellow residents of Marawi.

The Subcommittee on Business and Livelihood is chaired by DTI with member agencies the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Technical Education and Skill Development Authority (TESDA), Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), local government units (LGUs) of Marawi City and Lanao del Sur and humanitarian organizations.

As of August 23, 2019, 17,680 beneficiaries or 36% of the target 49,000 IDPs by the end of 2019, have already received starter kits from the DTI-TFBM livelihood interventions. The Department has released more than P200M worth of the starter kits including sari-sari store, bigasan, sewing, school supplies, carinderia, carpentry, electronic tools, and e-loading.

TFBM, through its Subcommittee on Business and Livelihood led by DTI, ensures the unceasing assistance for the revival of businesses and livelihood projects in the affected city.

Good Design Award Philippines Highlights Malasakit as a Defining Character of Philippine Design Excellence

The Design Center of the Philippines is set to recognize outstanding objects-, places-, images- made and systems executed in the Philippines that address social problems to enrich the quality of human life in the inaugural run of the Good Design Award Philippines. 

Good Design Award Philippines is a national design excellence recognition system that aims to promote design as a key tool in developing and providing solutions to social challenges as well as strengthen the country’s global competitiveness and increase its innovative quotient. 

"Design is an innovation enabler. At a time when we face tumultuous changes on every front—from technology to economics, the environment, and our institutions—the role of design becomes increasingly critical. Thus, our efforts will not just support our design industry; it will also push design skills to develop design-driven organizations and innovative industries. It will even help us transform the public sector," said Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez.

"The most meaningful designs, creative works, and innovations are those that solve social problems, not just design for design’s sake. We want to promote a culture of design and innovation that can serve as higher-value services that our country can be known for,” Sec. Lopez added.

The design excellence recognition system is in support of AmBisyon Natin 2040 through the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022, specifically its development strategies on ‘Promoting Philippine Cultures and Values,’ ‘Vigorously Advancing Science, Technology, and Innovation,’ and ‘Expanding Economic Opportunities in Industry and Services through Trabaho and Negosyo.’   

For Design Center executive director Maria Rita O. Matute, the Good Design Award Philippines adds more value to design as a driver of economic growth and innovation. It pushes for a design excellence that is impact-driven, providing design solutions that address human needs and societal challenges to protect future generations and secure a more livable society for them. 

"We envision Good Design Award Philippines to be one of the platforms through which Design Center nurtures the Philippines’ culture of design excellence,” Matute explains. “Aside from innovation and economic growth, we want to elevate design as a powerful tool that creates positive societal change, making the world a better place for all and future generations. This too then echoes a strong challenge to designers to act as catalysts and powerful agents of change—to improve the quality of human lives through objects, places, images and systems; through sustainable and inclusive businesses, and through responsible governance.” 

Malasakit as a PH brand of design excellence 

With the creative industries, particularly the design sector, steadily emerging as a driver of national competitiveness, the Philippines’ neighboring countries in the Southeast Asian region likewise invest in their respective design industries, encouraging a prolific design culture by recognizing good design across sectors. 

Good Design Award Philippines shares in the same objective as it aims to build a strong community of global Philippine designers from across industries and disciplines, and to promote the significance of design in uplifting lives, while pushing for a nation brand of design excellence that is particular to the Philippines. 

“What the Good Design Award Philippines brings to the fore of the global design industry is the Philippines’ unique approach to design excellence,” Matute remarks. “The Philippines is a nation with innate creativity; we are malikhain by nature. But what really sets Philippine design apart is the malasakit that is embodied in our design solutions, whether it be a product, place, image or system.” 

Malasakit, or closely translated in English as compassion, is the sympathetic consciousness of other’s distress and acting to alleviate it. Matute points out that the Good Design Award Philippines boldly puts this specific Philippine value as an additional pillar to the traditional parameters of good design—innovation, form, and function.  

“It is the impact of these design solutions to a social concern or basic human need that distinguishes Philippine design from the rest. While we recognize the significance of functionality, form, and innovation in good design, ours is not solely defined by these principles. Philippine good design is an equal part equation of the principles of good design and malasakit,” Matute discusses, emphasizing that malasakit is the Philippines’ contribution to the global design discourse.  

Matute cites as example the four homegrown products and service that were recognized in Japan’s Good Design Award-ASEAN Design Selection in 2018.  

SALt Lamp is an emergency lamp specially designed to give lighting support to marginalized island communities without the burden of complex tool mechanism, in line with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 on access to affordable and clean energy. With its human centered design, SALt lamp received the highest response in the visitor and consumer survey among the 22 designs in the ASEAN Design Selection special exhibition in Tokyo, Japan.  

Make a Difference (MAD) Travel offers social tourism tour packages that afford Aeta communities in San Felipe, Zambales sustainable living while tackling SDGs 1, 2, and 3 on No

Poverty, Zero Hunger and Good Health and Well-being. Moreover, MAD Travel encourages tourists and guests to aid in their goal of planting a 3,000 hectare forest, which is in line with SDGs 13 and 15 on Climate Action and Life on Land. 

Red Palm Ventures’ banana stalk wallpapers is geared towards the empowerment of women in a community in San Pablo, Laguna through livelihood, and addresses Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 on Responsible Production and Consumption through the optimal use of banana stalks.  

Likewise, Bambike’s Bambino balance bike reinforces SDG 12 as well through the use of the highly abundant bamboos in their production, and SDG 8 on Decent Work and Economic Growth by providing livelihood to the Bambuilders (bamboo builders) of a Gawad Kalinga Community in Victoria, Tarlac.  

 

Malasakit as a mark of good design 

The Good Design Award Philippines has its criteria the principles of good design--innovativeness, form, and functionality—plus malasakit, which will be evaluated based on design solution’s impact on the 17 SDGs listed by the United Nations. 

The inclusion of malasakit in the criteria carry the Philippine value beyond simply a quality of Philippine good design; it shows how local innovations can also impact on global challenges. From a community level of compassion, Philippine design sees itself committed as well to developing solutions on a much larger perspective. 

Matute expounds that perceiving Philippine design in a wider picture adds to the commitment of nurturing a culture of design excellence in the country. “By understanding that design impacts a bigger cause than one’s self or one’s community, you would naturally want to come up with the best ideas and solutions because you become responsible to a larger matter,” she adds.  

Good Design Award Philippines 

The Good Design Award accepts entries from Philippine-registered enterprises, designers, and creatives from both private and public sectors with fully realized and/or executed products or systems in the design disciplines of object making (furniture, furnishing, décor; fashion accessories; mobility; and material innovation); image making (packaging, and communication); place making (architecture, and interior architecture); and service/system design. 

Winners will be evaluated in a two-step screening process by a jury composed of thirteen multidiscipline and industry-respected individuals, including the private sector representatives of the Design Advisory Council (DAC). 

Winning entries can be awarded the Good Design Philippines Red and Gold Awards based on the judging criteria, while the Good Design Philippines Green Award will recognize the entry with the most impact on SDGs related to environment and sustainability. The Gran Prix for Good Design Award Philippines is the Orange Award, and it will be awarded to the design that makes the greatest impact and contribution to the attainment of the United Nations SDGs. 

Entries can be submitted until 15 August 2019. For more information on Good Design Award Philippines, please visit https://designcenter.ph/good-design-award-ph.

Talent Solutions Platform Workbank Built on the Filipino virtue of Malasakit

The newest player in the job matching industry, Workbank, has set its sights on the growing Filipino workforce by launching a platform that provides an enjoyable job search experience with exclusive perks and free trainings to help talents land jobs quicker.

The employment solutions firm notes that it was out of malasakit, the unique Filipino virtue that can be best described as compassion, that drove them to create the innovative portal. In a speaking engagement at the People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP) General Assembly, Reggie Fernandes, Workbank’s Country Head shared that opportunities exist in the Philippine market through its increasing employment rate and young workforce. Fernandes noted that while millennials and post-millennials already make up nearly half of the local workforce, majority of the unemployed also come from these segments.

Workbank’s Co-Founder and Chairman, Jaison Francis, who has had a long-spanning relationship with Filipino workers as a recruiter pointed out that driven by his malasakit for Filipinos, he realized that he could do more for them. “The Internet and mobile devices are a meaningful touch point for us because this is where we can reach the majority of applicants – this is why we exist in this space. However, we have gone beyond setting up a traditional job portal and decided we ought to invest in the people. Workbank doesn’t just connect job seekers and recruiters – it also provides guidance and support for interviews, pre-employment requirements and assistance even during their first month at work,” Francis said.

In its commitment to investing in job seekers, Workbank has also sought strategic partnerships with the likes of Zalora and Grab that provide exclusive perks like discounts for job seekers. “Our number one commitment is to invest in our talents so that they can land the jobs they aspire for. Finding likeminded partners who can help us see this into fruition is what we will consistently try to build on. We’re glad to have an already impressive roster at the moment but look forward to other partners who will be joining us in the near future”, Fernandes said.

Job seekers can begin signing up for free on their website as they gear up for their official launch in early 2019.