SBCorp unveils start-up loan at TRIBUNE’s AIF

The Small Business Corporation, or SBCorp, will launch a loan facility for start-up enterprises next year, easing some requirements compared to its RISE UP Multi-Purpose Loan. SBCorp is the financing arm of the Department of Trade and Industry.

On the sidelines of the 3rd Asian Innovation Forum, SBCorp vice president for innovation and advocacy Wally Don Calderon revealed that as of October this year, the firm has already provided multi-purpose loans totaling P10.8 billion to over 58,000 borrowers.

"We are aiming to increase the loan for next year by at least five to 10 percent. Last 2002, about 25,000 borrowers were recorded," he said, an increase of more than 50 percent compared to this year.

DAILY TRIBUNE's third staging of its Asian Innovation Forum on Thursday in Barangay Sucat, Muntinlupa City, is themed "Me Time: Growing on Windfall."

Calderon said the expected increase in borrowers would result from innovations being rolled out by SBCorp.

"At the current RISE Up Multi-purpose Loan, the only allowed MSME lenders are those with a track record of at least one year or more. Next year, we will develop a loan facility for start-ups or those who are starting their businesses. We plan to eliminate the at least one-year tracking requirement," he said.

RISE Up is an "easily accessible" loan program of SBCorp that aims to sustain the gains of micro, small, and medium enterprises that have survived the pandemic. It offers soft terms, according to the executive.

RISE Up programs are as follows: Micro Multi-Purpose Loan, meant for multi-sectoral microenterprises; Small and Medium Multi-Purpose Loan Suki for existing borrowers in good standing with at least six months repayment track record, and SME Multi-Purpose Loan First Timers for multi-sectoral SMEs.

The maximum loanable amount for the RISE UP Multi-purpose loan is P300,000, payable for up to three years, with an interest rate of 12 percent annually.

Thanks, AIF

During the program, Calderon extolled DAILY TRIBUNE for conceptualizing the AIF and bringing it to the grassroots to aid those MSMEs that need capitalization and financial assistance from the government and private financing entities.

"We are joining this kind of event to be able to reach MSMEs and tell them about our program. We also visited other provinces this year, from Ilocos Norte to Misamis Oriental, as far as Basilan, to introduce SBCorp to MSMEs in the far-flung areas," he said.

He said SBCorp was not known as the lending arm of the DTI before the pandemic.

"But after we have grown big during the pandemic and after we have helped MSMEs to prevent them from shuttering doors, from the previous P2 billion capitalizations, lawmakers entrusted us with the P10 billion additional fund that we used for SBCorp Bayanihan CARES," he said.

Calderon then urged the roughly 300 AIF participants that if they avail of the loan program from SBCorp, they must pay the loaned amount in time to provide a chance to those MSMEs who will avail of the program.