Davao entrepreneur exemplifies community financial service network growth

More than 30,000 authorized agents across the country are transforming neighborhood small businesses into community financial hubs, expanding access to basic banking and micro-financial services nationwide, micro-financial institution Cebuana Lhuillier reported.

The authorized agent network allows small business owners to offer remittances, utility bills payment, bank transfers, micro-insurance, and mobile loading alongside their primary ventures, creating additional revenue streams while providing accessible services to underserved areas.

"Our authorized agents show how entrepreneurship can make a real difference in people's lives," Cebuana Lhuillier president and CEO Jean Henri Lhuillier said. "When local businesses grow, they create opportunities for their communities and help bring essential financial services closer to more Filipinos."

Among the network's partners is Naprey Almario, a Davao City teacher, entrepreneur, and advocate for persons with disabilities. After the Covid-19 pandemic halted operations at his travel agency, Almario joined the company’s agent program to establish an alternative source of income.

Almario launched a local bills payment outlet to address the shortage of payment centers in his area before expanding into domestic and international remittances, micro-insurance, and other retail services.

His enterprise, the Almario Ticketing Office and Laundry Shop, eventually emerged as one of the top sales and transaction retail agents in Mindanao and earned him recognition as a finalist in the company's Happiest Pinoy search.

"While travel was on hold, it became my source of income," Almario said, noting that managing the business provided both financial stability and structured daily focus during the economic downturn.

Cebuana Lhuillier senior executive vice president Philippe Andre Lhuillier reaffirmed the institution's commitment to supporting partner enterprises by broadening its digital and retail ecosystem.

Company executives said the authorized agent model continues to drive financial inclusion by leveraging established neighborhood commercial footprints to deliver basic financial services to local residents.