As part of its program to accelerate financial inclusion nationwide, FinTQ Corp.?s (FinTQ) KasamaKA, through PLDT-Smart Foundation, has handed over P5 million donation to Robin Padilla?s Tindig Marawi movement.
The amount, which will be managed by Liwanag ng Kapayapaan Foundation in partnership with local cooperatives in Mindanao, will serve as seed capital to pilot the country’s first digital halal microfinancing initially for 500 displaced microentrepreneurs in Marawi City.
It covers half of the P10 million that KasamaKA — FinTQ’s income and community builder program — intends to donate to kickstart the Tindig Marawi Livelihood Fund to rebuild businesses and economic activities in the aftermath of the terror attack in the city.
FinTQ is the financial technology arm of PLDT and Smart’s Voyager Innovations, the digital innovations company focused on developing emerging market platforms.
“We are one with the government in enabling our Muslim brothers to optimize their full potential. This collaboration with KasamaKA and Tindig Marawi is just an initial step to more capacity-building initiatives leveraging on mobile technology,” said Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of PLDT, Smart, Voyager Innovations and PLDT Smart Foundation.
“We thank KasamaKA and the BSP for allowing us to make this dream a reality. Our commitment to help rebuild Marawi through capacity-building and community empowerment is the reason why we are all here. This project supports President Duterte’s program to bring all the necessary assistance to develop Mindanao. And this is now a reality,” said Robin Padilla of Tindig Marawi.
The ceremonial handover for the donation was witnessed by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. during a courtesy call made by Tindig Marawi and FinTQ officials.
“This initiative is perfectly aligned with the BSP’s National Strategy for Financial Inclusion. We commend the people behind this movement in giving our fellow Muslim Filipinos the chance to again start their microeconomic activities in Marawi City. This will ultimately bring Mindanao to a digitally inclusive financial system,” said Espenilla.
Voyager Innovations and FinTQ president and CEO Orlando B. Vea reiterated the call for financial inclusion: “This collaboration is part of our initiatives to push for inclusive digital finance in critical areas. We hope to further reach more individuals as we aim to include 30 million Filipinos in the formal financial system by 2020 through our various platforms and solutions.”
?In KasamaKA, we believe that the story of financial inclusion is not complete without Mindanao. Our vision of being inclusive starts with our Muslim brothers and sisters. What makes this extra special is that it relives the spirit of ‘bayanihan’ and sense of community amongst our Maranaos in Marawi and the rest of our fellow Filipinos in Mindanao,” said Lito Villanueva, FinTQ managing director and KasamaKA founder and lead convenor.
