Small Business (SB) Corp. said Friday small enterprises that want to restart their operations may still apply for interest-free and collateral-free government loans.
“To date, SB Corp. has approved 31,700 MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) loan applications. These correspond to a total loan amount of P4.84 billion,” SB Corp. said in a statement.
It said application can be processed online by creating an account at www.BayanihanCARES.ph.
Depending on their pre-pandemic sales and assets, qualified applicants can apply for loans ranging from 10 thousand pesos to P5 million.
“These loans are payable up to a maximum of four years, inclusive of a maximum grace period of 12 months for non-tourism MSMEs, or a maximum grace period of 24 months for tourism MSMEs accredited by the Department of Tourism or registered as Barangay Micro Business Enterprises,” SB Corp. said.
“Successful loan applicants will only need to pay a one-time service fee, set at a maximum of 8% for a four-year loan term. Lower service fees apply to shorter loan terms,” it added.
SB Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer Ma. Luna E. Cacanando noted that it tries not to duplicate what mainstream MSME finance companies are doing.
“We do not compete with what is already working in the market. What we need to do is fill in the gaps for small businesses that banks and lending companies do not yet find attractive to finance relative to their profit objectives and cost management thresholds. We develop and operate our financing programs for MSMEs along these lines,” she said. – Arjay L. Balinbin