Cebu CFI Community Cooperative is reaching out to more entrepreneurs in Luzon to offer loans and investments.

Founded in 1970 by Judge Esperanza Garcia in Cebu City’s Capitol Compound, Cebu CFI members have increased to over 160,000 nationwide.

Initially, it only had 25 members from the staff of Cebu’s Court of First Instance or CFI.

The cooperative recently attracted 45 more members during the Daily Tribune’s fifth Asian Innovation Forum or AIF held last Tuesday in Barangay Cupang, Muntinlupa City.

The AIF allows leaders from the government and private firms to share insights on digital trends with entrepreneurs so they can grow their businesses.

Cebu CFI offers franchises for Five Star Manok that sell chicken meals and originated in Thailand.

“The market there is already saturated. We were allowed to have franchises in Visayas and Mindanao. We’re working out the Luzon area,” Don Garcia, Cebu CFI’s manager for its Makati City office, said.

“You just need to find a spot or location that is frequented by many people,” he advised.

The cooperative allows investors to cash out P40,000 out of the total franchise cost of P400,000.

Garcia said this gives them an initial inventory of 800 pieces of chicken, skills training for employees, equipment and access to Five Star Manok’s mobile app which allows vendors to receive online orders and track sales and inventory.

“The good thing is they can already start earning. Investors can borrow the remaining amount from the cooperative and source their loan payments from some of their revenues from the chicken outlet,” he explained.

Garcia said there are already over 30 Five Star Manok stalls in Visayas.

He is optimistic the cooperative’s membership will expand as the financial successes of chicken outlets are brought back to all members.

Garcia also shared that Cebu CFI was joined by 53 new members who participated in a previous AIF in Sucat.

Cebu CFI has grown its assets to P15 billion and distributed loans worth P9 billion.

MSME, startup loans

The cooperative also offers loans of up to P500,000 to associations of micro, small and medium enterprises or MSMEs. The interest rate is 1 percent per month.

Another is a commercial credit line that caters to startups that can avail a maximum of P30 million loan.

The loan can be used for expansion projects, apart from working capital.

Home-based businesses

Maria Baranda, 61 years old, was among the AIF participants who submitted their Cebu CFI membership forms last Tuesday as she plans to sell more products at her sari-sari store at home.

“One of my children gave me some capital but I want to expand my store. I used to deliver kangkong or water spinach to a public market and sew when I was younger,” she said.

Baranda hopes she can obtain a loan so she can simply stay at home, take care of her health, and gain a comfortable income.

“I was working almost 24 hours to sell kangkong. Besides, the rent for a space in the public market is now very expensive,” she said.

Archie Cunanan, 51 years old, also filled out a membership form to avail of the medical insurance offered by Cebu CFI.

Looking ahead, he said he also wants to apply for a loan to support his freelance and home-based job as a management consultant.

“I may need capital to carry out various activities for my consulting business. I help the public and private sectors --- and recently a group of persons with disabilities — organize their people and systems,” he said.