Incubation facility soon to rise at SRP

CEBU, Philippines - Micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) players in Cebu City are soon to present a master plan for the proposed incubation facility to be built on a 200-square-meter lot at the South Road Properties.

City administrator and Metro Cebu Coopreneurs Surety Fund chairman Francisco “Bimbo” Fernandez said that a consultation was held among their member cooperatives yesterday to discuss the plan.

He said he hopes there will already be a draft of the proposal to be presented before the grand launching of the SRP in May.

Fernandez said the city will be providing the lot that expands up to 200 square meters at the SRP.

The incubation facility was the idea of Mayor Tomas Osmeña as a way to provide assistance to MSMEs.

The incubation facility will be leased to MSMEs, which will be given the chance to operate at a low cost.

Fernandez said aside from structures, they will also install offices in the area for other needs of MSMEs. He said they are still discussing who will manage the facility but stressed that it will be a multi-sectoral effort.

“The city will provide the lot, the capital and the technology may come from the DBP (Development Bank of the Philippines) and the coop will provide the grants. It could be that way,” Fernandez said.

     Fernandez said that as long an entrepreneur is a member of a cooperative that is a member of the MCCSF, he can avail himself of the loan programs for MSMEs.

The minimum loan amount is P100,000 while the maximum shall be less than P100 million. Fernandez said that MCCSF’s priority clients are the MSMEs.

MCCSF is a surety fund initiated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to provide access to loans to MSMEs, which compose 99 percent of the enterprises in the country.

     Under this credit surety fund, MCCSF can give guarantee to eligible members for them to be able to avail themselves of loans.

Loan programs were made easy to eligible borrowers because with MCCSF guarantee, one does not have to declare any collateral. —/Jessica Ann R. Pareja/LPM  (FREEMAN NEWS)