Country
Philippines
Local Project Partners
CARD SME Bank Inc.,
A thrift bank
German Project Partner
Sparkasse Ansbach
Donor
German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Duration
01.10.2009 - 31.03.2021
The Philippine MSME sector is critical to the country's economic development as it accounts for 99% of all businesses in the country, with a 61% share of total employment and 35% of total value added. However, in terms of size distribution, the major challenge is that in the past two decades, the share of medium-sized enterprises has not increased. As a result, the country's industry structure is characterized by a missing or hollowed-out middle.
The overall developmental objective of the project is to strengthen small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Philippines through improved access to needs-based financial services. Thus, the project aims to close the supply gap by promoting the market potential.
A two-year consolidation phase began in 2018. During that time the aim is to sustainably strengthen CARD SME Bank's professional organizational and operational structure, which was established in previous project phases. Additionally, the project seeks to enable the bank to independently continue and further expand all processes and instruments introduced by German Sparkassenstiftung.
Project Tasks
- Introduction of further training and personnel development plans for bank employees.
- Establishment of an efficient risk management system.
- Provision of training and education.
- Assistance in setting up permanent structures such as: effective and efficient loan processing, efficient IT support, successful marketing, and an effective risk management system, as well as strengthening other areas of overall bank management.
