MABS Service Provider Program Graduation and Official Launch
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(Manila) At a ceremony held on September 5, 2003, the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) formally certified several local organizations as being fully qualified and capable of assisting rural banks throughout the Philippines to install and use “the MABS Approach to Microfinance”.
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The “MABS Approach to Microfinance” is a systematic, step-by-step process followed by banks as they develop the full capability to profitably offer loan and deposit services to microenterprises. Since 1998, more than 114 rural bank units in the Philippines have learned the MABS Approach, and are now profitably providing services to microenterprises. Collectively, these banks have made loans to more than 108,000 micro-borrowers, and are providing deposit services to almost 194,000 new micro-depositors.
“The MABS Program enables rural banks to build on the technical expertise needed for a successful microfinance venture using the MABS Approach”, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Rafael Buenaventura said during the ceremony. He particularly cited the program’s success in Mindanao, “I am happy that we are most successful in Mindanao, where we probably need it most. This is one area where Mindanao takes the lead.”
In order to be able to accelerate the dissemination of the MABS Approach to the hundreds of other interested rural banks throughout the Philippines, RBAP initiated the MABS Service Provider (MSP) Program. RBAP President Mr. Daniel Arcenas said, “With the MABS Service Provider Program, we should be able to increase the capability of putting in not just 10 but hopefully, 50 rural banks a year.”
Gov. Buenaventura expressed the BSP’s support for the MSP Program, saying, “With the presence of the MSPs which have been extensively trained in microfinance operations, we can better promote sustainable microfinance by helping banks develop the capability to provide financial services to the entrepreneurial poor.”
The United States Agency for International Development Office of Economic Development and Governance Chief Robert Wuertz also stated, “USAID joins RBAP in supporting the development of MABS Service Providers who will support the rapid expansion of the MABS Approach to rural banks as a means to develop the capability to provide financial services to microenterprises.”
Under the MSP Program, carefully selected organizations are trained by RBAP to the point where they are fully capable of helping interested banks to install and use the MABS Approach. The firms that received their certification on September 5 were:
• Ancilla Enterprise Development
Consulting, Inc.
• Associated Resources for Management
and Development, Inc.
• Punla sa Tao Foundation, Inc.
The Graduation and Official Launch of the MABS Service Provider Program marks the conclusion of a rigorous six-month training program designed to effectively prepare the MSPs. The event marks a milestone in the promotion of the MABS Approach among rural banks in the Philippines. With the increased capacity to disseminate the MABS Approach through the MSPs, a greater number of rural banks may now be assisted in developing the capacity to profitably provide financial services to microentrepeneurs.
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