The Center for Community Transformation (CCT) Group of Ministries, a leading Christian development organization in the Philippines, has announced a major leadership transition with the appointment of Sandra “Sandy” E. Togonon as its new president. The move follows the Board of Trustees '...
Astra Tech (Astra), MENA’s leading consumer technology holding group based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), signed Tuesday, July 18, a share purchase agreement (SPA) to acquire a 90 percent stake in Y Finance, a licensed financing company operating in the Philippines, as it commits to develop...
FROM THE MARGINS The government is ramping up measures to curb inflation due to the rise in food prices resulting from shortfalls in agricultural supply. A high-level Inter-Agency Committee is being set up to monitor agricultural production, food prices, supply, and importation. This, hopefully,...
FROM THE MARGINS The values of shared wealth and people participation distinguish the Kabuhayan sa Ganap na Kasarinlan Credit and Savings Cooperative (K-Coop) from other microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the country. K-Coop, which evolved into a cooperative from a microfinance NGO, turned seven...
FROM THE MARGINS I have a deeper appreciation of agricultural microfinance after my recent visit to Bacolod, where I met with sugar farm workers and beneficiaries of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). I also had the opportunity to commune with officers of the Negros Women for...
FROM THE MARGINS My visit to Bacolod last week brought back memories of my days with the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP). I worked with the corporate-led social development foundation from 1978 to 1987, initially tasked to manage a demonstration farm in Laguna to show that a farmer...
There must be, by now, thousands of success stories of poor entrepreneurs whose small businesses have performed well enough to provide food, shelter, clothing and education to families. Many of these entrepreneurs have also developed other products that have created livelihood for people in their...
FROM THE MARGINS Once touted as something of a miracle cure for global poverty, microfinance used to be a high-profile and generously-funded development intervention. In recent years, however, support for the sector has dwindled, with development finance institutions moving on to new disruptive...
