BDO Foundation program for farmers wins Asian Banking & Finance award

KITA (Kapital at Ipon Tungo sa Asenso) Mo Na!, a financial education program by BDO Foundation, was recognized as Financial Inclusion Initiative of the Year at the Asian Banking & Finance (ABF) Retail Banking Awards 2025.

The program aims to support the agricultural sector by improving the financial literacy, productivity and income-generating capabilities of farmers nationwide.

This ongoing program was developed by BDO Foundation in partnership with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC).

“The recognition serves as an inspiration for us to keep moving forward as we support national efforts toward financial inclusion,” BDO Foundation president Mario Deriquito said. “We share this award with our partners who share the same mission of empowering farming communities with the right knowledge to pursue a more secure future.”

KITA Mo Na! adopts a gamified approach in teaching farmers important know-how on managing finances. A game master leads the sessions where farmers are given real-life scenarios that influence their daily financial decisions.

As of end 2024, the KITA Mo Na! program has reached 870 farmers and livestock raisers in different parts of the country.

Beneficiaries are taught basic personal finance topics like saving, budgeting, debt management, basic financial products, ways to earn additional income, financial consumer protection and scam prevention.

Championing other interventions

BDO Foundation and its partners developed several interventions to ensure the success and sustainability of the program.

The conduct of training of trainers is one essential strategy that the organizations continue to implement to cascade the program to different farming communities all over the Philippines.

As of end 2024, there were already 49 trainers from all regions capable of teaching the KITA Mo Na! program to their respective farming communities. They are supplemented with a trainer’s guide and game kits to ensure a standardized cascade of the program.

Trainers gear up to cascade the program

Regular training of trainers sessions are held to ensure that more individuals are equipped to teach farming communities nationwide.

“We are hopeful that through the shared efforts of the foundation, our partners, and the trainers, more and more farmers are equipped with the right knowledge and tools to make sound financial decisions — that no one is left behind in rebuilding a financially literate citizenry,” said Marikit Naguiat, BDO Foundation’s manager for financial inclusion.

Ensuring the program’s resilience, BDO Foundation, BSP and ACPC have established a monitoring and evaluation framework to assess the impact and effects of KITA Mo Na! on the beneficiaries.

BDO Foundation said it is committed to supporting similar efforts that contribute to the BSP’s National Strategy for Financial Inclusion and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals.