Category: Microfinance

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.

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.

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.

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.”

Alalay sa Kaunlaran, Inc. (ASKI) commissioned the services of the Social Enterprise Development Partnerships, Inc. (SEDPI) to deliver a training on “Customer Care.” The training was held at ASKI’s head office in Cabanatuan City on March 26-27, 2012. A total of 25 participants who are mostly front liners attended the event.

Excellent customer care is essential to the rapidly changing landscape of the microfinance industry. Amidst the increasing number of microfinance players, providing clients with utmost care play a key role in the success of the organization.

Mr. Rolando Victoria, ASKI’s Executive Director, gave his opening remarks during the training. Three trainers from SEDPI delivered the training – Mr. Edwin Salonga, SEDPI Chairperson; Mr. Vincent Rapisura, SEDPI CEO and Ms. Cherryl Si, SEDPI Program Officer. They were rated excellent in terms of knowledge and delivery of training.

The customer training is a dry run to pave the way for ASKI transforming into an Ateneo Training Hub for Microfinance. The training hub will service microfinance institutions and ASKI staff in Central and Northern Luzon. SEDPI Capital Credit Inc. (SCCI), SEDPI’s financing arm also extended a PhP20 million credit line to support ASKI’s microfinance expansion. The strategic partnership was primarily sealed with a gentlemen’s handshake between Mr. Victoria and Mr. Rapisura over lunch during the training event.

Ateneo De Manila University (ADMU) and the Social Enterprise Development Partnerships, Inc. (SEDPI) successfully conducted two training events last March 26 to 31, 2012 in Cebu City. The two trainings – Fundamentals and Principles of Microfinance and Customer Care for Microfinance – were the first to be conducted under the training hub partnership with Community Rural Bank of Catmon (CRBC).

A total of 19 participants attended the course on Fundamentals and Principles of Microfinance. The course aims to provide the participants with the essentials and framework of methodologies used in microfinance. It also provided the participants with the emerging trends and opportunities in the industry. Mr. Bernardo Desabelle, the General Manager of First Consolidated Coop along Tanon Seaboards (FCCT) and a microfinance practitioner for more than two decades, shared, “the training provided a renewal and a deeper understanding of microfinance which plays a key role for a sustainable microfinance operation.”

On the other hand, 13 individuals attended the training on Customer Care for Microfinance Institutions. The course stresses the importance of excellent customer care amidst the fast changing landscape of the microfinance industry. Participants of the training were able to craft concrete output such as action and policy points for customer care which they can emulate in their respective institutions.

The trainers – Mr. Edwin Salonga, Ms. Florence Adviento and Ms. Enid Madarcos – received excellent rating from the participants in terms of knowledge, delivery and overall skill as training facilitators. Both trainings can be accredited for a Diploma in Microfinance conferred by the Ateneo De Manila University as part of the ADMU Microfinance Capacity Building Program.

Social Enterprise Development Partnerships, Inc. (SEDPI) conducted trainings under the Ateneo Microfinance Capacity-Building Program (ADMU-MCBP) in Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation, Inc. (NWTF), its pioneer partner training hub in Bacolod City, on March 19 to 24, 2012. The trainings conducted were Delinquency Management and Financial Planning for Small and Medium Enterprises.

Seventeen participants from NWTF and Dungganon Bank, Inc. attended the training on Delinquency Management. The course enables participants to understand delinquency by tracing its causes and costs and offering various perspectives on delinquency from the vantage point of the borrowers and the microfinance institution. Participants are also taught on how to measure delinquency using international standards and how to come up with both preventive and curative strategies in solving delinquency.

Eleven participants from the same organizations attended the training on Financial Planning for SME’s. The course aims to equip the participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to recognize business opportunities. It also teaches the participants on how to identify characteristics of entrepreneurs, use a framework on planning, organizing, and managing an enterprise, and project financial goals. Various workshops were conducted to help the participants develop their business ideas, which they presented at the end of the course.

SEDPI has trained over a hundred staff from NWTF, and from other microfinance institutions in the area, since the start of the training hub partnership in 2009. Attending the training courses make the participants eligible for the Diploma Course in Microfinance conferred by the Ateneo de Manila University.

Fifteen management staff of Abuyog Saint Francis Xavier Credit Cooperative (AFCCO) were conferred a Diploma in Microfinance. Ateneo de Manila University’s Development Studies Program conferred the diploma through its program manager, Mariel Vincent Rapisura. The event was held on March 17, 2012 in Abuyog, Leyte during AFCCO’s general assembly meeting.

“Thank you for unselfishly sharing your knowledge to us. The partnership has helped our cooperative grow stable and service oriented,” Charry Guston, AFCCO’s operations manager, wrote in a framed certificate extended to Ateneo and Social Enterprise Development Partnerships, Inc. (SEDPI). AFCCO and SEDPI inked a partnership three years ago to provide capacity buildings services aimed at improving service delivery to microfinance clients and improved financial performance. The capacity building interventions extended were trainings, technical and mentoring assistance, planning, research and organizational appraisal. The trainings provided led to a Diploma Course in microfinance to its management staff without extra cost.

The diploma course graduates submitted documentations on how the trainings and other capacity building interventions contributed to the overall improvement of AFCCO’s financial and social performance. AFCCO’s COOP PESOS rating improved from 80 in 2010 to 87 this year. COOP PESOS is a performance-based regulation measure of the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA).

The table below shows the graduates’ researches:

Name	Research
Almodera, Cristeta	Significance of microfinance as a poverty eradication tool
Arabiana, Arlene	Savings Mobilization from Women Coop Members
Bero, Jenny	AFFCO Members in Good Standing Classification
Calinawan, Daniel	Mitigating Fraudulent Activities
Dalino, Olive	Savings and Credit for Women
Guimbaolibot, Juliet	Establishing AFFCO’s Asset Recovery Team
Guston, Charrie	Establishing Incentives Schemes for AFCCO Staff
Montilla, Melchessadisch	Strategies to Increase Member Savings
Montipolka, Jessica	Learnings from AFCCO’s Sustainable Organic Agriculture
Napoles, Marilou	Improving AFCCO’s Member Benefit Program
Nodalo, Rose	AFCCO’s Financial Product Development Process
Peneda, Edwin	Importance of Dividends, Patronage and Interest to Members
Realino, Mario	AFCCO’s Officers Development Program
Tonido, May	Social and Financial Literacy among Kids  and School Children
Yringco, Luz	Social Audit of AFCCO

The Diploma in Microfinance is a 13-unit modular course work. It could be completed through attending public run, customized or online courses of the Ateneo Microfinance Capacity Building Program. Public and customized trainings have the equivalent of 1.33 units while online courses are equivalent to one unit. The participants should also pass tests administered after completion of each training event. A simple research or documentation of how the learnings were applied to the microfinance institution is also required. The research or documentation is equivalent to 4 four units. Since 2009, almost 400 microfinance practitioners graduated from the program. To date, there are 1,177 individuals enrolled in the program.

On March 17, 2012, SEDPI’s President, Mariel Vincent Rapisura delivered at the Visayas Rural Bank Management Conference held at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu City. A total of 136 participants from 42 rural banks attended the event.

Mr. Rapisura shared opportunities and product innovations for rural banks in the following areas: microinsurance, financial products linked to remittances; microhousing; microleasing; rural and agricultural finance; small and Medium Enterprise Financing (Missing Middle); alternative Energy; and financial Literacy.

For microinsurance, he explained that there are a lot of opportunities to be seized in developing climate change-related products. As a country frequently visited by typhoons and floods, it is obvious that rural banks should have financial products that protect end clients from these. Rural banks also initiate the establishment of mutual benefit associations to service their microfinance clients. Mr. Rapisura stressed that health insurance should also be given to poor clients. He gave as an example, Klinikalusugan, a social enterprise that delivers affordable health care services, as a means to provide access to health services for the poor. He stressed, however, that health is not within the competency of rural banks. It is therefore imperative for rural banks to network with organizations to provide these services.

The Philippines is the third largest remittance receiver country. Ten out of the 30 million workforce are abroad. Rural banks, due to their extensive branch network could provide alernative financial products to migrants and their family members. Mr. Rapisura explained that rural banks should encourage OFWs to save for more than five years to take advantage of tax incentives. Rural banks should also use as a marketing strategy the deposit insurance protection offered by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation of up to PhP500,000. Productive loans for migrant family members guaranteed by future remittances of migrants is another creative means of designinng financial products to capture this market segment. This wil potentially break the cycle of dependency on remittances since the migrant’s family members will have source of income in the Philippines. Other products that could be developed include educational and asset acquisition loans.

Microleasing is a financial product that allows microfinance clients to access high ticket equipment or assets for production or value addition. Microfinance clients lose productivity because they could not afford high technology equipment for production or value addition. Through microleasing, the microfinanc eclients rent the equipment or asset from the microfinance institution. Mr. Rapisura shared that a recent program of the Department Agrarian Reform paves the way for this arrangement.

Rural and agricultural finance is another area where opportunities abound but needs “thinking out of the box.” Mr. Rapisura explained that in a research they recently conducted private capitalists have more flexibility in providing repeat loans to farmers affected by calamities. He explained that microfinance institutions, such as rural banks, typically do not extend refinance loans to farmers even if the reason for non payment is due to calamities. This practice leads to the dependency of farmers to private capitalists. In this light, Mr Rapisura posed a challenge, “It is time to redefine delinquency. It should should not be based on repayment alone. A client who diligently pays loan amortizations and suddenly misses this due to calamities should not be considered as delinquent. Pro-poor financial products should be designed to assist the poor out of poverty.”

As a strategy, Mr. Rapisura cited a social enterprise, Good Food Community, Inc. (GFC) He shared that GFC provides credit to its vegetable farmers but bases its amortization on the weekly production of the farmer. It only requires payment to loans based on 20% of the production revenue of the farmer every week. With this method, the amortization amount is not fixed and the loan term can only be estimated.

Mr. Rapisura also shared an opportuninity for rural banks to participate in the Asian Development Bank and Department of Energy’s plan to extend e-trike loans through local government units. He encouraged rural banks to persuade the government to use them in extending the loans to ensure repayment of the e-trikes and avoid the program being politicized.

Lastly, Mr. Rapisura encuraged rural banks to provide financial literac programs to their clients. He explained through financial education, rural banks can “teach their clients to buy their financial products.”

The Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) and Social Enterprise Development Partnerships, Inc. (SEDPI) conducted five simultaneous trainings to ARDCI NGO Group, Inc. (ARDCI) on March 17 – 27, 2012. Key management officers and operations staff of ARDCI attended the “Branch Viability” training. The course aims to provide metrics that could be monitored at the branch level to ensure sustainability of branches.

Alma T. Villanueva, ARDCI’s Operations Head explained, “In our effort to serve more clients, we need to be certain that each branch we open will be able to sustain its own operations”. This goal prompted the organization to strengthen its branch operations through building the capacity of their staff. ARDCI currently has 32 branches in its areas of operations covering six provinces in Southern Luzon serving nearly 50,000 poor households.

Feedback from the participants showed positive response to sessions delivered and to the facilitators as well. One of the participants commented, “the training course gave valuable information for our branch operation.” In addition to the trainings, SEDPI staff went to each ARDCI branch to mentor the staff in the branches. This is to ensure application of the learning from the training. During the mentoring, the branch managers expressed that the training will certainly help them on monitoring the actual performance of their branch versus their targets.

The training is one of many collaborations of SEDPI and ARDCI. In 2007, SEDPI played a pivotal role in the turning around the performance of ARDCI. ARDCI was at he verge of collapse then. The organization was swamped with challenges in governance as a result of frequent change in leadership. For four consecutive years, from 2003 to 2006, ARDCI experienced consecutive net losses. The losses incurred reached approximately PhP20 million. Through the SEDPI’s capacity buildings services, ARDCI was able to turn around its performance. Today, key measures of performance show that ARDCI is performing excellently. The institution scored a peso rating of 83 out of a possible 100 for 2011. In 2006, ARDCI only scored a measly 21 points. Operational self sufficiency soared to 138%, better than the industry best practice of 120%. Portfolio at risk ratio is also within the industry best practice of less than 5%.

ARDCI continues to avail SEDPI’s services to keep it abreast with the latest trends in microfinance as well as maintain its stellar organizational performance. SEDPI provides numerous trainings, conducts various researches and facilitates strategic planning to ARDCI as needs arise. Through continuous improvement, ARDCI is poised to become the forerunner in grass-roots led delivery of service for the economic empowerment of the poor in the Philippines.