Small businesses have been prevented from availing loans and other pandemic-related financial aid because many of them are unregistered with the government, the financing arm of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.
Small Business Corporation (SBCorp) representative Jade Montero said the government-owned financing firm maintains a range of assistance programs to help MSMEs, but these are only available for licensed businesses.
“Some businesses have no paper as proof they have a business at all. One of these proofs is having a business permit; the first eligibility requirement is you should have a business permit to get a business loan,” he said during a meeting of the Provincial Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development Council (PMSMEDC) Friday here.
A common mindset among small entrepreneurs, he said, is the mistaken belief that obtaining permits entails a long, circuitous process that would be counterproductive to their “small-time” business.
Montero clarified that some financial programs of SBCorp neither require stringent qualifications, nor does it necessarily require a business to operate for years.
“Some (financial) programs only require a year of operation,” he added.
As of February, SBCorp said it has released a total of PHP5.9 billion as of end-February to MSMEs.
The amount was part of the PHP8.08 billion disbursed to SBCorp for the rollout of the zero-interest loan Covid-19 Assistance to Restart Enterprises (CARES) program.
Meanwhile, Ruben Vegafria, president of Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Oro Chamber), called on small business owners to see the benefits of being government-registered, especially those needing to cushion the impact of the coronavirus disease pandemic.
Roena Bince, focal person of Oro Bankers, urged local MSMEs to take advantage of the government’s “one-stop shop” business registration, which are relatively faster than the regular licensing route.
Source: Philippines News Agency
