Background and History

2004

July 30: SEDPI is established as a private organization providing capacity building services and social investments to microfinance and microenterprise stakeholders.

July: Developed social investments to MFIs

2005

March: SEDPI management team starts managing the Ateneo Microfinance Capacity Building Program

December: Became recognized by international participants through their participation in public-run training courses

2006

March: SEDPI becomes a member of the International Network of Alternative Financial Institutions.

August: SEDPI facilitates the Ateneo-BPI partnership for Microfinance Capacity Building all over the Philippines.

November: SEDPI delivers its first international training course in the Netherlands through Oxfam Novib

December: Inked partnership with World Wildlife Fund to establish microfinance operations in environmental hotspots and to mobilize social investments

2007

March: The Diploma Course in Microfinance is first conducted for the Central Bank of Nigeria.

June: The first training on Financial Literacy for Remittance Senders is given overseas to various migrant groups. The first course on Financial Literacy for Remittance Receivers is conducted in cooperation with Microfinance Opportunities and BPI. These two events mark the start of SEDPI’s advocacy in leveraging remittances for development through microfinance and financial education.

July: SEDPI begins providing capacity building services to MFI partners of the People’s Credit and Finance Corporation (PCFC), the largest wholesaler of microfinance funds in the Philippines.

SEDPI heads are invited as resource persons or facilitators on microfinance and remittances at international conferences held in Benin, Burkina Faso, Luxembourg, and the U.S.A.

November: SEDPI becomes a member of the European Microfinance Platform.

December: Agricultural and Rural Development for Catanduanes, Inc. is successfully rehabilitated, leading to the microfinance industry’s recognition of the effectiveness of SEDPI’s services.

2008

March: SEDPI Capital Credit, Inc. (SCCI) is created to provide wholesale funds to small and emerging MFIs, and to mobilize socially responsible investments.

April: SEDPI delivers the training course The New Frontier: Linking Microfinance and Remittances in Bali, Indonesia under the Academy for Microfinance Development in Asia.

June: SEDPI is accredited as a service provider of the People’s Development Trust Fund of the National Anti-Poverty Commission.

July: A financial education module on microinsurance is pilot tested in cooperation with Microfinance Opportunities.

October: A partnership with Cordaid is established to provide capacity building services and wholesale loans to MFIs, to train remittance senders and receivers on financial literacy, and to provide a guarantee mechanism to Filipino migrant investments. The Netherlands-based Cordaid is one of the world’s biggest international development organizations with a network of almost a thousand partner organizations in 36 countries.

2009

January: SEDPI increases its capacity by providing Technical and Mentoring Assistance to 10 MFIs all over the Philippines simultaneously

March: Set up the first training hub in the Philippines in cooperation with Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation

August: Conducted research on housing finance for the Philippine Busines for Social Progress

October: Conducted organizational appraisal to the fastest growing MFI in the Philippines, ASA Philippines Foundation, Inc.

2010

February: SEDPI launches online courses on microfinance

May: SEDPI top management participates in the development of a social entrepreneurship curriculum with the National University of Singapore and Ateneo de Manila University

June: SEDPI conducts Financial Literacy for Remittance Receivers nationwide in partnership with Western Union

July: SEDPI is commissioned by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation through the Bankable Frontiers Associates to do a study on payment methods Launched online courses

July: SEDPI partners with the British council to conduct trainings on social entrepreneurship

September: SEDPI’s chairperson was invited by the Greenwich University in London to present his research paper on guarantee mechanisms for microfinance institutions

2011

May: SEDPI shared its strategies and showcased achievements on leveraging remittances for development through microfinance in Hyderabad, India.

June: SEDPI participates in the League of Corporate Foundation’s Corporate Social Responsibility Expo advocating social entrepreneurship in the corporate jungle.

November: SEDPI’s CEO was invited as a panelist in the most prestigious international conference for microfinance, the Global Microcredit Summit in Spain.

December: SCCI reaches a portfolio of PhP100 million

2012

March: SEDPI presents its experience on social entrepreneurship at the Asia Summit in Bangkok, Thailand. It also successfully registers SEDPI Social Enterprise Ventures, Inc. (SEDPI SEVI)

April: SEDPI conducts training on social entrepreneurship to university lecturers and signs partnership agreement with CSIP in Hanoi, Vietnam

May: SCCI gets credit line from the Land Bank of the Philippines and accreditation with Department of Agrarian Reform ARCESS

June: SEDPI presents its experience on financial literacy and investment mobilization for migrants in Jerusalem, Israel.

September: SEDPI presents its experience on financial literacy and investment mobilization for migrants in Rome, Italy with the government’s Commission on Filipinos Overseas.

December: SEDPI’s research on OFW personal finance gets featured in 24-Oras of GMA7 and its CEO guested in a TV show on the ABS-CBN News Channel

2013

January: Established SEDPI Foundation

March: Climate Change Commission avails of SEDPI services on designing alternative livelihood and financing scheme to vulnerable groups for climate change adaptation

May: USAID commissioned SEDPI to conduct research, design training collaterals and conduct trainings on financial literacy on the adoption of mobile money in Metro Manila, Batangas and Bulacan

June: Small Business Corporation commissions SEDPI to provide organizational appraisal and technical and mentoring assistance services to three microfinance institutions

December: Won public bidding at the Department of Agrarian Reform on Microfinance and Social Entrepreneurship

2014

January: Cordaid commissioned SEDPI to conduct research on the effect of Typhoon Haiyan to microfinance institutions in the Visayas

November: Cooperative Development Authority accredits SEDPI as training provider for cooperatives

December: Forged partnership with the Insurance Commission to advocate the importance of crop insurance to farmer clients of microfinance institutions

2015

February: Started a series of financial literacy trainings for West Elm partner artisans

March: SDFI receives Special Recognition from PriceWaterhouseCoopers in the Developmental Social Enterprise Awards

August: Popularized Climate Change Commission’s Community of Practice website

2016

January: SDFI obtains PhP30M credit line from Union Bank of the Philippines

February: Registered SEDPI in Singapore

July: Launched #UsapangPera, a financial literacy online talk show, and (L)Earning Wealth book launched

September: Participated in the due diligence audit with the Asian Development Bank’s Credit Guatantee and Investment Facility for ASA Philippines’ PhP2 billion bond float

October: Oxfam partnership for Micro and Small Enterprise Development

November: SDFI takes over two branches of microfinance from the business failure of MILAMDEC

December: SDFI obtains PhP30M credit line from the Development Bank of the Philippines

2017

January: Presented SEDPI as benchmark in mobilizing migrant investments through financial literacy and investing for rural development in Sri Lanka organized by Lanka Social Ventures, Oxfam Great Britain and British Council Sri Lanka

May: Product design market research for housing microfinance with Habitat for Humanity

Signed memorandum of agreement with Industrial Guarantee Loan Fund of the National Economic Development Authority to implement regional trainings on innovations on financial inclusion

Received recognition from National Confederation of Cooperatives for research conducted on best practices of microfinance

June: Finished world book tour and investment forum for (L)Earning Wealth in 10 cities worldwide.

Established partnership with Mindanao Microfinance Council to provide capacity building services to microfinance institutions

July: Established third microfinance branch in Lingig, Surigao del Sur

Launched season 2 of #UsapangPera, financial literacy online talk show

2018

January: Established fourth microfinance branch in Rosario, Agusan del Sur

February: Trained 500 management and staff of GSIS and DepEd on financial literacy

May: Partnership with Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG to bring socialized housing closer to microfinance clients

July: Launched season 3 of #UsapangPera, financial literacy online talk show

Established fifth microfinance branch in Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur

October: Partnered with Pag-IBIG to lower savings contribution of microentrepreneurs

Trained policy makers on Innovations and Trends in Inclusive Finance

November: Launched Online Courses on Financial Literacy

Facilitated ADB Knowledge Sharing on Social Entrepreneurship

December: Won as local partner tp the Italian Agrarian Reform Community Development Support Program (IARCDSP) of the Department of Agrarian Reform funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation.

2019

February: Digital finance study with the World Council of Credit Unions

Launched season 4 of #UsapangPera, financial literacy online talk show

May: Partnered with Social Security System to provide sickness and retirement benefit program of the government closer to OFWs and microenterprises

June: Established sixth microfinance branch in Santa Josefa, Agusan del Sur

December: Established seventh microfinance branch in Barobo, Surigao del Sur

Capacity building for climate smart social enterprises in Del Carmen

Established network of 237 trainers on social investments in 10 countries worldwide