Seafarers and their families are getting a new option in putting up a business as the Seafam International (Seafam) and Global SME Loans Inc. (Global SME) have partnered to provide soft loans to Filipino maritime professionals.

Global SME, a financing company, duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, is offering loan products to more than 50,000 overseas Filipino workers, according to Arianne Blanche Rocha, president of Seafam, an organization that safeguards the well-being of Filipino seafaring families.

“With greater earning potential, our seafarers have a rare opportunity to uplift not only themselves but their entire families. To build a better future. To break the cycle,” she said Tuesday at the contract signing between Global SME and Seafam at the Linden Suites, Ortigas Center, Pasig City.

Rocha said that too many seafarers still fall into financial traps and reach the “age limit” with their dreams still unfulfilled. 

“And some, in their desperation, fall prey to loan sharks, driven to hopelessness,” she said.

Seafam’s partnership with Global SME is a powerful step toward protecting that future by serving as practical alternative to predatory lending.

Global SME provides a “Seaman’s Loan” product specifically made for sea-based OFWs who are currently in the country, offering 2.5 percent interest and approval of up to 200 percent of salary and overtime.

“They gain options, security and dignity. With our EntrepPinoy Capital program, we empower retiring seafarers to reintegrate with purpose. SeaFam provides the training. Global SME provides the capital. Together, we give our seafarers a fighting chance — not just to survive life after sea, but to thrive. When we do things the right way — with integrity, with compassion and with vision — great things happen,” according to Rocha.