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IFC green-lights up to $60-million loan for Philippine microfinance firm OnePuhunan

Business | Banking & Finance

IFC green-lights up to $60-million loan for Philippine microfinance firm OnePuhunan

By Ben Arnold de Vera

International Finance Corp. (IFC), the World Bank Group’s (WBG) private-sector lending arm, has greenlit an up to $60-million loan for microfinance institution CreditAccess Philippines Financing Co. Inc., or OnePuhunan (1P).

A Feb. 27 disclosure seen by Manila Bulletin over the weekend showed that IFC’s Washington-based board approved its loan financing for 1P on Feb. 25.

In December last year, IFC said the loan would support women-owned and -led microenterprises in rural Philippines.

The IFC investment is a United States (US) dollar-denominated, three-year senior loan consisting of an A loan of up to $20 million and up to $40 million in mobilized financing through a B1 and/or parallel loan.

Founded in 2014, 1P is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a financing company and is owned by CreditAccess SEA B.V. (CASEA), a holding firm with operations in the Philippines and Indonesia.

As of 2025, 1P serves over 600,000 clients through more than 300 branches nationwide.

In its earlier disclosure, IFC highlighted that the project will expand financial access for women-led microentrepreneurs in rural areas, with proceeds “exclusively” used for lending to women-owned and -led micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in underserved regions.

“IFC will mobilize both domestic and international investors and thereby enable the company to diversify its funding base and access additional sources for its growth,” it said, adding that the program also aims to help 1P strengthen responsible lending practices and create a fully digitalized roadmap for its credit operations.

Under the program, the senior loan will provide microloans to MSMEs and individual borrowers across sectors such as trade, services, agriculture, and farming.

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