The Macquarie Group Foundation, in partnership with the Australian government, is investing more than P43 million to support women-led small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Philippines and help offset the pandemic’s impact on their businesses.
The Macquarie-Investing in Women RISE Fund in the Philippines, the first in Southeast Asia, was formally launched yesterday in Makati City.
Macquarie Group Manila Technology and Office Head division director Eric Yaptangco said the funding reaffirms the group’s commitment to contribute to the success of women-led enterprises as well as in the country’s recovery efforts amid the pandemic.
“This really signifies Macquarie’s commitment to the Philippines,” Yaptangco said. “We will continue to contribute to its ongoing growth and recovery from the Covid situation.”
To extend the funding to Filipina-led businesses, the Investing in Women RISE Fund partners with the Foundation for a Sustainable Society Inc. (FSSI) and InBestCap Ventures (InBest).
“As we move forward with this RISE Fund, we will be able to provide opportunities for the Foundation to get even stronger and let our women-led businesses not just to flourish, but excel and succeed,” Yaptangco added.
The project seeks to sustain over 200 women with full-time jobs in the next two years.
At FSSI, the program will be implemented through financial assistance, capability building, and joint venture with other social enterprises, where an SME may access more than P100,000 based on its needs.
“We will make sure that it will be distributed in all the regions of the Philippines, it will not just be focusing on the rural sector or in one part of the country,” FSSI representative Christie Rowena Plantilla said.
InBest, meanwhile, will consider the cash flows and the growth plans of the enterprise who will apply.
“The maximum will be P15 million and more depending on the need of the SME,” InBest’s representative Benilda Ronquillo-Camba said.*PNA
