ADB, Japan extend $1-M grant for RP microfinance plan
The Japanese government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) extended a $1-million grant to the
NAPC chief Secretary Domingo Panganiban said the grant assistance came from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR) for the development of microfinance in the country focusing on improved services to protect the poor and reduce severe poverty incidence.
The JFPR is an untied grant facility established by the Japanese government and ADB in May 2000. From an initial contribution of $90 million, the JFPR now stands at well over $360 million, of which $224 million has been committed, the ADB said.
“The assistance for developing microfinance project by JFPR will also help to develop an affordable microfinance scheme to guard poor households from unforeseen calamities and uncertainties such as deaths, illness and injuries of family members,” Panganiban said.
The project will complement the ongoing ADB support for the Microfinance Development Program and its associated grant assistance by strengthening the capacity of the country’s microfinance sector, he said.
He said in the approved JFPR grant, the National Credit Council, the Department of Finance, the Insurance Commission, the Cooperative Development Authority and the NAPC will serve as the implementing agencies for the project with DOF to serve as the Executive Agency for the project.
The project will complement the ongoing ADB Microfinance Development Program (MDP) to help the government formulate and adopt suitable microfinance regulations by reviewing the current policies and regulations and improving the current insurance regulatory framework, he said.
The JFPR assistance will also enhance capacities of government regulators and micro-insurance providers through training and mentoring as well as increase access by the poor to a range of microfinance services through financial literacy activities, he said.
“With this project, it is expected that new standards for safe, sound microfinance services will be adopted, thereby increasing the number of insurance providers adopting the same guidelines and standards,” Panganiban said.
JFPR assists ADB clients to provide direct relief to the poorest and most vulnerable segments of society while building up their capacities for self-help and income generation.
The JFPR initiates and supports innovative programs that have high potential for improving the affected countries’ situations; provides relatively rapid, demonstrable benefits through initiatives that have positive prospects of developing into sustainable activities over the long term; and assists programs designed and implemented by local populations and civil society, the ADB said.
Presidential Management Staff chief Secretary Cerge Remonde said some P86.69 billion was released to 3.59 million microfinance clients from 2004 to 2007, generating 1.56 million new jobs.
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