FROM THE MARGINS How do the best microfinance institutions (MFIs) ensure financial sustainability while targeting poor clients? In my last three columns, I wrote about microfinance best practices in empowering clients and training account officers. This time, I would like to focus on the best...
FROM THE MARGINS In microfinance, clients must come first. Microfinance institutions (MFIs) differ from traditional financial institutions because they maintain close relationships with their clients, who are organized into ‘centers’ that meet weekly with their account officers (AOs). The AOs...
FROM THE MARGINS Happy Fathers’ Day! I send greetings to all the husbands and fathers of our microfinance clients, especially the Tatays who have joined our programs to take better care of their families. You are an inspiration to all of us! As the world honored fathers yesterday, I thought of...
FROM THE MARGINS Happy Independence Day! As we commemorate this very important milestone in our nation’s history, let us try to go one step further: to celebrate our independence while also pursuing freedom from poverty. Since microfinance is an important component of poverty eradication, allow...
FROM THE MARGINS Most of us are familiar with loan sharks or “5-6” informal lenders that the poor resort to because they have limited access to finance. Traditional financial institutions usually consider the poor risky borrowers, possessing neither the credit score nor the collateral needed...
FROM THE MARGINS Working for the public good, whether as a private citizen or as a civil servant, is just two sides of the same coin. It is all about serving the people. I am often introduced as a microfinance expert and financial inclusion advocate, but years ago, I was just a humble public...
FROM THE MARGINS May is the month of Mothers – our caregivers, supporters, nurturers and providers. For all their sacrifices, it is proper for us to dedicate May to the no.1 woman in our life, our mothers. This is my pahabol Mothers’ Day tribute to all the nanays who keep the Philippine...
FROM THE MARGINS Last Sunday, I received a shocking text message, telling me that one of my best friends, Dr. Ramon Yedra, has passed away. From the US, I immediately called Mon’s wife, Reby, who confirmed the sad news. My heart broke when she told me that Mon – always considerate – asked her...
FROM THE MARGINS When the going gets tough, the tough get going. There is one microfinance institution (MFI) that always comes to mind whenever I hear this phrase. I have the utmost respect for the Kasanyangan Center for Community Development and Microfinance Foundation, Inc. (KCCDMFI), because it...
FROM THE MARGINS Today is Labor Day, a national holiday honoring Filipino workers. Philippine Labor Day was first celebrated on May 1, 1903, when more than 100,000 workers organized by the Union Obrera Democratica de Filipina – the country’s first labor organization – marched from Tondo to...
FROM THE MARGINS Opening a door often leads to new rooms and many other doors. The Tulay sa Pag-unlad, Inc. (TSPI), a pioneer of the Philippine microfinance industry, opened a door that led to many microfinance institutions (MFIs) also opening doors of opportunities to millions of poor Filipinos....
FROM THE MARGINS Coming from yesterday’s Easter celebrations, I find myself thinking of today’s youth. Easter signifies hope, renewal and new life – what we associate with youth, knowing how they are driving social change. I was so inspired after attending the launch of the 2023 Ramon V....
