Author: Mariel Vincent Rapisura

SEDPI’s Financial Literacy Training Inspires 1,459 High School Students

On June 13, 2012, SEDPI facilitated its “Financial Literacy for Teens” training to approximately 1,459 fourth year high school students in Silang, Cavite. The Sisters of Mary Schools (SMS), a non-stock, no-paying, live-in institution for the marginalized poor in the Philippines houses the students.  The school chooses students from poor families all over the Philippines and reside in either the Boystown or Girlstown.

In partnership with PTC-CSJ Foundation, SEDPI trained a total of 890 girls and 569 boys. The participants were divided into two training events: one was conducted in Boystown and another in Girlstown. Each training event was composed of a plenary of participants, who were eventually divided to six breakout groups. The training focused on the importance of personal finance, budgeting, managing expenditures, setting financial goals and creating a savings plan. By using the life of Mr. Edwin Salonga as an example, SEDPI stressed that financial literacy can help the youth have better control of their future. It also provided the students with knowledge and tools which they could use to better manage their finances once they start working.

For four years, the students are enrolled in an educational program that includes an intensive vocational and technical skills development.  Towards the end of their education, the students start their on-the-job training to practice their knowledge and skills.  Sister Laresa Morasa, the principal of the Girlstown, said that from the moment the students entered the school, all their basic needs are provided for.  They stay in the campus for an entire year except for the annual two-week vacation after each school year. Also, the students are not allowed to bring money once they enter the school.  As such, the students are not familiar with handling money. Sister Moresa added that, “since the students are about to graduate, financial literacy training is very important because it prepares them for when they leave the school and the support it provides.”

The students received the training well. Many commented that financial literacy will indeed be an important step towards achievement of their goals. In one of the breakout sessions, participants shared that the training will be of great help, not only for themselves, but also for the journey of their families to move out of poverty. One student even said that, “I am so inspired… I want to become an entrepreneur!” Another added that she was inspired by the life of Sir Edwin through the examples that the trainers shared. The trainers – SEDPI’s Program Manager, Emilenn Kate Sacdalan and SEDPI’s Program Officers, Florence Adviento, Enid Madarcos, Denise Subido, Cherryl Si, Charmie Lising and Romeo Arahan, Jr. – were all rated excellent in terms of delivery, knowledge and overall skills as resource persons. In particular, the students commended the trainers for making the discussions lively, easy to understand, and relevant.

SEDPI Presents Achievements in Jerusalem

On June 11-13, 2012, the Government of Israel and the Jewish Distribution Council held its inaugural biannual conference on Diaspora-Homeland Partnerships in Jerusalem. Some 150 delegates from 40 countries participated in the conference. The conference spotlights policies and programs that have proven effective in mobilizing and engaging diasporas, as well as providing insights into the experience of Israel and other countries with their diasporas.

On the first day of the conference, SEDPI’s President and CEO, Mariel Vincent Rapisura and SEDPI’s adviser on migration and development, Leila Rispens-Noel presented the Leadership, Financial Literacy and Social Entrepreneurship (LSE) Program as a case study. The LSE was showcased as a program that have proven effective in promoting trust and accountability among migrants. LSE is a capacity building program that empowers Filipino migrants with leadership skills to be an agent of change and transformation; financial literacy knowledge and skills to improve economic well being; and social entrepreneurship to explore their options in changing their current livelihood. View the full case study here.

On the second day, SEDPI Group of Social Enterprises (SEDPI GSE) presented its experience and achievement in supporting Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) and Social Enterprises (SEs) through financial literacy to and investment mobilization from migrants. SEDPI’s President emphasized in his presentation that capacity building is the main challenge and strategy in effectively harnessing the diaspora for development. Unfortunately, the government nor international development organizations, do not provide enough support for capacity building. SEDPI GSE’s core strategy is to build the capacity of migrants on financial literacy so that they are able to invest in socially responsible investment in the long run. This is coupled with technical and mentoring assistance to MFIs and SEs to strengthen them to effectively absorb investments to maximize social impact and financial sustainability. With these, SEDPI GSE’s total portfolio invested in MFIs and SEs reached PhP135 million (USD3 million) reaching at least 500,000 poor households in the Philippines. View presentation here.

Ekaterina Miroslavkaya, one of the conference participants, wrote in her email to SEDPI after the conference, “It is always very inspiring to meet outstanding personalities who strive for making a difference and who are professionals in what they are doing.” This statement encapsulates how SEDPI GSE has transformed into a highly professionalized institution in the course of eight years.

SEDPI Conducts Financial Literacy Trainings to LSE Students in Italy

“Marami akong natutunan. Yung pagbibigay pala ng sobra-sobra sa Pilipinas mali pala,” says Ms. Analou Gamutan. (I learned a lot. I learned that giving too much remittances in the Philippines is wrong.) Analou is one of the 96 students of the Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship (LSE) Program for Overseas Filipino Workers. The training she attended on “Financial Literacy” is part of the 12 training courses she will have to attend to complete the program.

One of the immediate results of the LSE program is strongly felt in the financial literacy classes that SEDPI delivers. The financial literacy trainings were delivered in two batches – Turin, Italy (LSE-10) and in Milan, Italy (LSE-11). The training emphasizes the need to take care of ones personal finances first before helping others. Analou adds, “Magsisimula na akong mag-budget. Sa pinapadala ko, dapat ang covered na lang ang nanay ko, tatay ko at ang anak ko. Tapos yung sa kapatid ko… dapat mag-trabaho na siya.” (I will start to make a budget. The remittance I will send should only cover for my parents and child. My sibling should look for a job.)

The financial literacy training provides practical suggestions on how to manage remittances. Through this, the program hopes to break the cycle of dependency on remittances. The training covers topics such as the stages of the migration process; importance of personal finance; setting financial goals; managing expenditure; creating a savings plan; and debt management.

Mr. Leo and Raquel Ramos, LSE graduates, explain that they started to consolidate their debt after attending the financial literacy class. They charted a clear path to paying their debt and started accumulating savings. “Gumastos kasi kami nang malaki sa aming kasal at bakasyon kaya lumaki an gaming utang,” he explains. (We spent a lot on our wedding and vacation that’s why our debt grew.) “Mali pala ang gagastusin mo na ang kikitain mo pa lang,” he adds. (It is wrong to spend now what you will earn tomorrow.) According to the couple, the things they learned in LSE are not new but reinforced their commitment to face the challenge and change their lifestyle for the better. They are now half way into paying their debt in full, earlier as planned.

The Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship Program is implemented by a consortium of organizations – Ateneo School of Government, OFSPES, SEDPI and various government agencies. Almost 400 Filipino migrants from Italy finished the program. It is currently implementing the 10th and 11th batch in Turin and Milan, Italy. Last week, the 12th batch was launched in Hong Kong.

SEDPI has conducted over 45 financial literacy trainings to Overseas Filipino Workers in 14 countries worldwide. It has trained close to 1,800 participants. It also runs an online platform on financial literacy for migrants.

SEDPI Conducts Training on Basic Accounting for Non-Accountants at Vigan City

On May 30 – June 1, 2012, two batches of trainings on Basic Accounting for Non-Accountants under the Ateneo-SEDPI Microfinance Training Courses. Nueva Segovia Consortium of Cooperatives (NSCC), the newest training hub, hosted the trainings . The trainings were held in Vigan City. A total of 102 top and middle management officers from NSCC’s member cooperatives attended the trainings.

NSCC is composed of 71 primary cooperatives with over 17,000 members. It has nine (9) branches in the provinces of Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, Benguet, and La Union. Among the products and services they offer are social credit programs, savings mobilization, capacity building programs, and money transfer services. NSCC also provides commercial spaces and hotel services at the NSCC Plaza where the Ateneo-SEDPI Microfinance Trainings were held.

The Basic Accounting for Non-Accountants trainings were the first batch of trainings conducted under the partnership with NSCC. The course is part of the standard training curricula for cooperative officers prescribed by the Cooperative Development Authority under Memorandum Circular No. 2011-14. It aims to explain basic accounting concepts and procedures, the different financial statements, and the standard chart of accounts for cooperatives.

The trainings highlighted the importance of accounting and understanding financial statements. Numerous workshops were conducted to simulate the accounting cycle, allowing the participants to practice recording of transactions and drafting financial statements. Ms. Zenaida Reno, Secretary of NSCC, commended the trainers and noted that the training participants got the best value for their money. Among the trainers who delivered the training were SEDPI’s Chairperson, Mr. Edwin Salonga, and two program officers, Ms. Florence Adviento and Ms. Cherryl Si. NSCC’s Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Divina Quemi, also thanked Ateneo and SEDPI for the opportunity to train primary cooperatives on basic accounting, an essential skill necessary for analyzing the financial position of cooperatives.

OFWs from Bern, Switzerland use “Paluwagan” to Invest

SEDPI’s President and CEO, Mariel Vincent Rapisura, trained 18 Overseas Filipino Workers in Bern, Switzerland on May 26, 2012. Samahang Pilipina in Switzerland organized the training on Financial Literacy for Remittance Senders. The training aims to identify the current financial status of the participants; define their financial goals and provide suggestions on how to attain their financial dreams.

At the end of the session, SEDPI Capital Credit, Inc.’s (SCCI) Sustainable Investment Fund (SIF) was introduced. The SIF aims to mobilize socially responsible investments from migrants that SCCI will use to fund microfinance institutions and social enterprises in the Philippines. It is an alternative investment platform made available to migrants. SIF gives a return of 7.5% to investors with a term of one year. To date, SCCI has mobilized approximately PhP12 million SIF that are invested in 11 microfinance institutions and 12 social enterprises reaching an estimated 500,000 poor households in the Philippines.

The participants in Bern, Switzerland were inspired of the SIF and took it upon themselves to be proactive and invest in SCCI. Ms. Maria Teresa Eviota, President of Samahang Pilipina, initiated to use “paluwagan” to enable them to invest. Paluwagan is a rotating savings and credit scheme widely used in the Philippines. Each participant in the paluwagan will contribute CHF120 every month. The total amount collected will then be used to invest in SCCI assigned to a particular person. There are 12 participants in the scheme. “This is our way to enable us to invest because it is easy and affordable for the members,” explains Ms. Eviota.

 

SEDPI and CSIP Sign Partnership Agreement in Myanmar

At the sidelines of the British Council’s conference on social entrepreneurship, SEDPI and CSIP signed a partnership agreement in Yangon, Myanmar on May 21, 2012. The partnership aims to strengthen the capacity of CSIP to deliver training courses on social entrepreneurship in Vietnam. Under the agreement, SEDPI will provide training of trainers, training design, training manual development and pilot testing to CSIP. The cooperation will cover two training topics on social entrepreneurship.

“We are banking on the expertise and experience of SEDPI to enable CSIP to deliver quality training courses on social entrepreneurship in Vietnam,” says Kieu Oanh Pham, CSIP’s director. SEDPI’s CEO, Mariel Vincent A. Rapisura responds, “We are honored to be of service to social entrepreneurs in Vietnam through CSIP. We hope that this initiative will also be replicated in other parts of Southeast Asia as we tap the vast network of the British Council.”

The Centre for Social Initiatives Promotion (CSIP) is a Vietnamese non-governmental and non-profit organization. It contributes in building up an equitable, prosperous, and sustainable society by promoting high impact social innovations. CSIP directly supports social entrepreneurs in their early stages and mobilize the participation of state agencies, other enterprises,  and surrounding communities; with the hope of the further development of social entrepreneurship in Vietnam.

The Social Enterprise Development Partnerships, Inc. (SEDPI) is a leading capacity building institution in providing innovative and excellence-driven services on microfinance, financial education and social entrepreneurship. It has reached 1,750 development organizations that have a combined outreach of ~4.2 million households worldwide. SEDPI’s capacity building services provide stakeholders – practitioners, policy makers, donors organizations and networks – with practical and readily applicable tools that lead to better institutional and operational policies.

Both CSIP and SEDPI are participants to the British Council’s program on establishing a network for social enterprises. The program started in Bangkok, Thailand continued in Yangon, Myanmar and will culminate in Hanoi, Vietnam.

ADMU-SEDPI Trains 26 Cooperatives in La Union

On May 12, 2012, ADMU-SEDPI Microfinance Capacity Building Program deliverd a training on Conflict Management to 26 cooperatives in La Union. The training was held in Benguet State University, La Trinidad, Benguet. A total of 81 participants attended the event. These cooperatives are all members of the Cooperative Bank of La Union which sponsored the event.

The training aims to discuss the meaning, nature and sources of conflict as well as the effects of conflict in organizations. There are also sessions on the different conflict management styles where participants were able to identify their dominant management style. The training also touches on topics such as effective communication, negotiation, mediation, and conflict management on cooperatives. At the end of the course, participants are expected to gain skills to be able to manage conflict effectively. The training is conducted in response to RA 9250, or the Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008 which mandates cooperatives to undergo capacity building for their officers.

The Cooperative Bank of La Union (CBLU) is composed of 26 primary cooperatives. The bank aims to assist member-cooperatives to manage their resources and strengthen the cooperative movement in the La Union. Their assets amount to PhP106 Million, with a loan portfolio of PhP77 Million. CBLU is a member of Nueva Segovia Consortium of Cooperatives, ADMU-SEDPI’s local partner for the training hub in Ilocos Sur.

The trainers were SEDPI Chairperson Edwin Salonga and Program Officer Denise Subido. Overall, the training as well as the trainers received an excellent rating from the participants. One of the participants said, “The speakers are very knowledgeable about the topics discussed” and “they have mastery of the subject matter and were able to draw the interest of the participants.” With this training, SEDPI hopes to reach out to more cooperatives through capacity-building efforts.

SEDPI Seals Training Hub Partnership with ASKI

On April 25, 2012, the Social Enterprise Development Partnerships Inc. (SEDPI) formalized its partnership with Alalay Sa Kaunlaran Incorporated (ASKI). Mr. Rolando B. Victoria, the executive director of ASKI, signed the memorandum of agreement with Mr. Mariel Vincent Rapisura, SEDPI’s President. The partnership, which has a term of one year, establishes ASKI as an ADMU-SEDPI training hub in central Luzon.

The collaboration aims to bring capacity building closer to microfinance practitioners in central and northern Luzon. Mr. Victoria mentioned that this partnership is an opportunity for ASKI to develop its second liners. He said, “We explore these kinds of partnerships to build and prepare our staff for their future role in the organization”.  To this, Mr. Rapisura added that, “the trainings will equip the participants with knowledge and readily applicable tools that will result to better operations and institutional policies”.  ASKI now employs 883 staff. These employees cater to an estimate of 100, 500 stakeholders in 13 provinces in central and northern Luzon

Starting May 2012, microfinance courses will be regularly offered in the hub. These courses can lead to a diploma in microfinance conferred by the Ateneo De Manila University.

Also present in the event were Mary Jane Macapagal, ASKI’s Director for Research and Training;  Jerecho Bernardino, ASKI’s Manager for External Training; Emilenn Kate Sacdalan, SEDPI’s Program Manager; and Enid Kathleen Madarcos, SEDPI’s Program Officer.

SEDPI and ASKI are positive that the partnership will help achieve a shared vision of economic empowerment for the poor.

SEDPI Trains CRBB Managers on Leadership and Supervision

On April 24-25, 2012, Social Enterprise Development Partnerships, Inc. (SEDPI) conducted a training on Leadership and Supervision for key management staff of Cooperative Rural Bank of Bulacan (CRBB). The training, which was held in Malolos, Bulacan, aims to inspire and impart practical principles and skills needed to become an effective leader. A total of 18 top and middle management officers from CRBB attended the training.

CRBB has 35 member cooperatives and more than 4,000 associate members. Their total assets amount to Php4 billion, with 18 branches located in Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, and Makati. Among the products and services they offer are savings, loans, money transfer, and payroll services. They also have 9 microfinance products catering to microentrepreneurs and overseas Filipino workers.

Leadership and supervision are among the most relevant functions of managers. To enhance the participants’ knowledge on how to perform these functions better, the following topics were discussed: leadership styles and approaches; the role and dynamics of teams; conflict management; measures of financial performance; and supervisory and communication skills.

The training focused on innovative structured learning experiences which encouraged active participation from the participants. Ms. Jet Nolasco, Senior AVP of CRBB, said that she appreciated the training because the learnings were applicable and practical, and because the examples given were easy to understand. She also commended the trainers for being fun, approachable, and knowledgeable on the topic.

Among the trainers who delivered the training were SEDPI’s President and CEO, Mr. Vincent Rapisura,  and SEDPI’s Chairperson, Mr. Edwin Salonga. Four other program officers also took part in delivering the training: Ms. Florence Adviento, Ms. Denise Subido, Mr. Romeo Arahan, and Ms. Cherryl Si. They were all rated excellent in terms of knowledge, delivery, and overall skills as trainer. According to Ms. Angela P. Dela Cruz, CRBB’s Human Resource Development Officer for Training, “SEDPI not only achieved our expectations, but exceeded them as well.”

SEDPI Inspires Vietnamese Youth on Social Entrepreneurship

Mariel Vincent Rapisura and Edwin Salonga, President and Chairperson of the Social Enterprise Development Partnerships, Inc. (SEDPI) respectively, presented the story of SEDPI Group of Social Enterprises in a seminar in Vietnam. The event aims to inspire students of the National Economics University (NEU) to support the development and explore the possibility of putting up social enterprises in their country.

Supported by the British Council Vietnam, the seminar also featured the social enterprises being supported by Gladius Kulothungan of the University of East London. More than 100 junior and senior students attended the event held on April 12, 2012 at the NEU Campus in Hanoi.

Vincent discussed that in 2004, SEDPI started out with a clear vision to be the leading capacity builder in the Philippines with regard to microfinance and social entrepreneurship. Since then, SEDPI has been able to train 7,500 individuals coming from 1,500 development organizations all over the world. It also has a program on financial literacy that targets Overseas Filipinos and their families, with the main thrust of educating them on how to manage their personal finances wisely.

Edwin focused on the growth of SEDPI Capital Credit, Inc. (SCCI) over the years. Starting out as a program of SEDPI, it has spun off as a separate organization that specializes on socially responsible resource mobilization. From having only USD 3,000 in its portfolio in 2004, SCCI now has total assets of over USD 3 million. It mobilizes investments from development institutions and Filipino migrant organizations, which in turn are converted as loans to microfinance institutions and social enterprises in the Philippines. After hearing the story of SEDPI Group of Social Enterprises, the university students had numerous queries on how similar companies could be established in Vietnam.

Vincent explained that there are four key factors to success – skills, knowledge, network and luck. One of the participants emphatically asked, “what percentage of the total mix is luck?” Vincent answered, “It is not about percentage but how ready you are in terms of skills, knowledge and network when luck arrives.” He added, “one should prepare for luck to be able to seize it when it arrives.”

With the key message that a balanced outlook on the importance of financial returns and achievement of social mission is possible in social entrepreneurship, the students took home with them the possibility of another career option. As a social entrepreneur, they would be able to create successful businesses that help the marginalized sectors in Vietnam.