GCash, the country’s dominant finance super-app, has secured a $30 million (around ₱1.75 billion) credit facility from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to expand lending to small businesses, a push into a sector that forms the backbone of the Philippine economy but remains largely shut out of traditional banking.

The agreement, signed Friday, Feb. 6, between the ADB and Fuse Lending Inc., the credit arm of GCash operator Mynt, is the Manila-based multilateral lender’s first venture of this nature in the region.

The initiative is bolstered by catalytic funding from the Mastercard Impact Fund, intended to help Fuse scale its operations toward high-priority, underserved merchant segments.

Aside from this billion-peso loan facility, ADB has also committed to providing up to $125,000 (around ₱7.3 million) in technical assistance “to help Fuse develop tailored financial products and deliver financial and digital literacy training for women, especially those with limited formal education.”

Mynt President and CEO Martha Sazon said the fintech values its partnership with ADB, as it strengthens the firm’s ability to expand access to credit for MSMEs and women entrepreneurs underserved by the market.

Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) account for 40 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 63 percent of total employment. According to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), there are 1.24 million registered business establishments as of 2024, over 99 percent of which are MSMEs.

An ADB study showed that access to credit and capital is the second most significant challenge for MSMEs, after access to markets. “With such a financial challenge, it takes less than a year for a small business to shut down operations,” it said, hence the urgent need to extend support.

Leveraging GCash’s trust-scoring system, GSCore, as part of the creditworthiness assessment, Fuse eliminates traditional barriers to lending, with no collateral or documentary requirements needed to secure loans, enabling greater credit access for everyday Filipinos.

DTI Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque said the collaboration links government priorities with private-sector innovation to expand access to fair and sustainable financing for MSMEs.

“More than the scale of financing, what makes this partnership meaningful is its intent: to ensure that capital reaches entrepreneurs who are ready to grow but have long been underserved by traditional systems,” Roque said.