The micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) sector in the Philippines, which makes up 99% of registered businesses, is reported to be the most underbanked in Asia.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 2022 Annual Report on National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (NSFI) shows that small and medium enterprises use more formal financial services than micro-enterprises.
A major obstacle MSMEs face is the strict criteria formal financial institutions impose. Furthermore, many MSMEs are unaware of the financial services they can avail of and lack knowledge on how to access them. The absence of access to regulated credit and financing programs results in being cash-dependent, with no option to secure loans when required, ultimately restricting their growth prospects.
Packworks, a business-to-business (B2B) FMCG marketplace for sari-sari stores, is aware of the challenges faced by the sector. To empower over 270,000 micro-retail stores nationwide to grow their businesses, Packworks is forming strategic partnerships with financial service providers to seek affordable and accessible services.
Packworks recently partnered with Cebuana Lhuillier and 1Sari Financing Corporation to offer secure, reliable, and affordable microloan services to sari-sari stores. These partnerships aim to provide financial services to sari-sari stores to promote financial inclusion and expand their businesses.
“Our objective is to enhance financial inclusion, tap into untapped growth potential, and fortify the foundation of our retail industry. We are actively pursuing these goals through strategic partnerships aimed at providing accessible and affordable financial services to empower the sari-sari store sector,” said Packworks Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Bing Tan.
Packworks is also currently discussing with other service providers to bring more options to its network of micro-retail stores.
Packworks has partnered with Bayan Academy’s SariSkwela program to fulfill its promise of promoting financial inclusion and empowering sari-sari stores. Through this collaboration, sari-sari stores can access learning modules on microentrepreneurship. This program will equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills to improve their businesses.
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