A ₱1.75-billion credit facility aimed at expanding access to financing for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) was formally launched on Feb. 6 through a partnership involving Fuse Financing, the credit unit of Mynt, operator of GCash, the Asian Development Bank, and the Mastercard Impact Fund.
The facility, equivalent to about $30 million, was extended by ADB to Fuse and is intended to support digital lending for small businesses nationwide.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by Department of Trade and Industry secretary Cristina A. Roque, who said access to financing remains critical to MSME growth.
“Financing is the lifeblood of MSMEs,” Roque said. “Without it, they cannot move as fast as they envision.”
Under the partnership, Fuse will use GCash’s GScore system, which analyzes users’ digital transaction history, to assess creditworthiness.
The approach is intended to reduce reliance on collateral and extensive documentation, which have traditionally limited small firms’ access to bank loans.
ADB is also providing $125,000 in technical assistance to support the development of customized financial products and training programs, particularly for women entrepreneurs with limited formal education.
The Mastercard Impact Fund, meanwhile, is contributing $150,000 in catalytic funding to expand Fuse’s outreach to priority MSME sectors.
Roque said the government hopes digital credit tools can help small vendors, particularly those in public markets, who often depend on high-interest informal lenders for working capital.
“We must not underestimate small businesses because many of our giants started at home,” she said. “If we level up our MSMEs, we level up the entire Philippine economy.”
Fuse Financing chief executive officer Tony Isidro said the platform aims to speed up loan processing and improve transparency for borrowers.
Mastercard senior vice president Subhashini Chandran said improved access to credit gives small enterprises “dignity and a fair chance to grow.”
ADB representative Christine Engstrom noted that although MSMEs account for about 99 percent of businesses in the Philippines, they receive only 3.9 percent of total bank lending, highlighting the financing gap the program seeks to address.
