In marked contrast to Soliman’s promotion of mendicancy is that of the ongoing plan of Seedfinance Corp., a microfinance advocate, that is making inroads in the fight against poverty. We attended a strategy meeting in Cebu last week of Seedfinance and its partners, which include rural banks, microfinance firms, cooperatives and foreign nongovernment organizations, and we cannot but feel proud about the way they empower the poor, so unlike the dole-out mentality that Soliman fosters. Under the Seedfinance concept, they fund the programs of rural banks, co-ops and microfinance that are meant to help the poor.

According to Carlos Ani, Seedfinance chairman, the firm is a microfinance lender that aims primarily to bring the benefits of microfinance to microenterprises, self-employed workers, family-based and community-based food production and other livelihood activities through the extension of financial, technical and business-development facilities to workers’ associations, cooperatives, rural banks, microfinance nongovernment organizations, people’s organizations, and commercial, industrial and agricultural enterprises, corporations, partnerships and proprietorships.

Seedfinance has already partnered with providers of services and other concerns of the small and medium enterprises with a view to ensuring that they get cost-efficient infrastructure support. The company has partnered with Encash, a deployer of ATM units, so that rural banks and co-ops can service the needs of their customers. The Encash ATMs are linking to Megalink, Bancnet and Expressnet allowing for synergy in the tie-up between the two entities. Also, during the Cebu conference at Crown Regency Residences, providers of microinsurance, which include the Philippine partner of Munich Re, one of the world’s largest reinsurers, unveiled a microinsurance plan to protect the clients of rural banks, co-ops and other microfinance institutions from possible losses arising from typhoons and other natural calamities.

During the conference, Encash president Eric Severino voiced the possibility of making rural banks and co-ops have the capability to issue ATM cards to their own clients through the Seedfinance-Encash tie-up. The opportunities for empowering the poor through this include less fees for remittances for families of overseas Filipino workers, as well as lower transaction costs for the poor families. Severino said there is now a pilot program being tested in Bicol that would allow the propoor institutions to have interlinked transactions sans the exorbitant costs associated with the need for the software. In short, there is outsourcing available for the required banking services for the entities under the Seedfinance-Encash tie-up.

Dubbed the “Hosted Core Banking Service,” the program would allow for an automation of banking services without need for paying up-front the software license fees, plus there is no longer any need for competency issues and skills required to run the new technologies. These trailblazing concepts of Seedfinance are what Soliman and company should attempt to foster in the country to address the poverty- alleviation issues. We are pretty sure that if Soliman plunks even just P1 billion to Seedfinance and Encash from out of her budget for the CCTs, the number of the poor families will drastically be cut with their self-worth intact and their productivity assured. But then, Soliman has her priorities, no matter how skewed they may be.

Read more -> http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/opinion/2966-soliman-unfair-to-the-president

The Micro No More Universe 3D Awards is a competition organized by SEEDFINANCE aimed at finding successful PFI-supported client-operated enterprises that have made the most of the 3 dimensions (MNM) of business innovations in the fields of:

1. Mobile and Electronic Technology – the client uses, even on a limited scale, mobile phone or ATM for his/her business transactions. This may include payment and collection system using either SMART Money or through electronic banking of the PFI or ATM services.
2. Nature-friendly Methods – the client uses, even on a limited scale, clean/renewable energy to power up his/her enterprise or alternative fuel sources and recycling initiatives.
3. Maximization of local resources – the client is developing or patronizing locally-available supply of raw materials for his/her business and is not entirely dependent on semi-finished products of transnational corporations.

PRIZES AT STAKE

For the Micro No More Universe 3D Awards Grand Prize Winner, the winning client will receive a PLDT Business Connectivity package (Computer unit with internet connection), its Partner Financial Institution will also receive an office gadget and as for its RPO/BDA, a brand new handycam. First Runner-Up Client will receive an Internet business console courtesy of talk and Text and lastly, the Second Runner-Up winning client will get to take home a Retailer Phone/SIM Business Package with SMART Money Card.

VOTE Now for your favorite micro-entrepreneur

Dubbed as the Islands Activation Program (IAP), the initiative utilizes Smart Money as a fast and secure alternative to send and receive funds in islands or areas where there is little or no access to formal financial services, and will benefit members of close to a hundred MFIs in various parts of the Philippines.

SEEDFINANCE works with 73 cooperatives with an aggregate clientele base of 1.2 million poor and low-income people.

It signed an agreement with ENCASH to install automated teller machines (ATM) with allied cooperatives for the speedier and more secure receiving and dispensing of cash.

SEEDFINANCE chairman Carlos Ani said in a press briefing that the potential for the deployment of ATMs and starting mobile banking initiatives is immeasurable.

Read more -> http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=611701&publicationSubCategoryId=74

This looming partnership between Encash and Seedfinance establishing the HCBS will enable cooperatives to offer financial services that before were enjoyed only by large-bank users. When running full steam, the HCBS will be offered to all cooperatives, countrywide.

Also, since the HCBS will be interfaced to the Encash ATM switch, which, in turn, is connected to the MegaLink switch, cooperative cardholders will eventually be able to withdraw funds from any ATM in the country. The business impact of the tie-up is expected to alter the banking landscape with a hitherto unheard-of banking innovation.

Read more -> http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/opinion/1008-sober-take-on-pag-ibig-row

ENCASH specializes in outsourcing ATM services and its accompanying infrastructure, mainly targeting thrift and rural banks, cooperative banks and cooperatives.

Eric Severino, ENCASH chief executive officer said among the prospective foreign investors are Microvest (USA), Planet Finance (France), Responsibility (Switzerland), Developing World Markets, SNS and Oikocredit.

To grow faster, we need a strategic partner or partners,” he said in a press briefing yesterday.

A member of the MegaLink network, ENCASH has already deployed 256 ATMs and registered transactions worth more than P5 billion at the end of August 2010.

The outsourcing specialist is aiming to hit the 300 ATM mark by the end of 2010, and double this year’s output next year.

Recently, it signed an agreement for the initial fielding of several ATMs to cooperatives allied with SeedFinance, a specialized financing firm with principal focus on microfinance institutions (MFIs), including rural banks and cooperatives.

SeedFinance is currently working with 73 MFIs with an aggregate clientele base of 1.2 million.

Read more -> http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=610228&publicationSubCategoryId=66

This year’s Micronomore Universe National Stakeholders Conference will be held on Oct. 20, 2010 in Cebu City.

Register now:
http://www.micronomore.com/register

Micro No More takes you to a whole new universe of mobility, accessibility, affordability and reliability in the provision of much needed financial and business development services to the micro- and small entrepreneurs in island and mountain communities that remain un-served and under-served by traditional financial institutions.

The Micro No More Universe – the whole socio-economic performance realm where MFIs strengthen themselves, adhere to their socio-economic VMGs, and provide the most responsive products and services to their clients for that ultimate impact and effect on the clients’ familial and economic life.

This year 2010, we take off from our foundations of Micro No More 2008 and Micro No More – No Borders of 2009, blasting off to the farthest reaches of this empowering MSME finance advocacy.

Sign up now to reserve a seat!
http://www.micronomore.com/register

In April this year, responsAbility gave its first loan to Seedfinance Corporation. Seedfinance Corporation is an apex institution, which provides financial services to small microfinance institutions (MFIs), farmers’ organizations and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Given their size and small-scale operations, these institutions are usually unable to access financial services from commercial banks or international investors.

Funding via Seedfinance is a great opportunity for responsAbility to support small institutions that otherwise would be too risky and costly to finance directly. The small MFIs and farmers’ organizations play an important role in terms of social impact, as they can reach clients in remote rural areas, where otherwise no financial services are provided.

Located in Pasig City in the Philippines, Seedfinance not only provides financial services to small institutions, but also technical assistance and capacity-building programs that are vital to small start-up MFIs and SMEs.

By the end of 2009, Seedfinance provided funding to 71 MFIs and six SMEs located in various regions of the country – (except in the western part of Mindanao, which remains a conflict area).

Source: http://www.responsability.com/site/index.cfm?id_art=62525&vsprache=EN

Today, 1% of the population owns 40% of the planet’s resources. This 1% is composed of individuals and corporations who obviously run the economy of the World – a World where 34,000 children die due to poverty and preventable diseases; a World where more than half of the population lives on less than $2 a day.

What is wrong? Our physical world is reaching its limits of usage more than it can carry not because of limited natural resources vis-à-vis its number of inhabitants but because of abuse for profit. Earth is abundant with natural energy but unfortunately, these resources are controlled by the powerful few to maintain their place at the top.

Fossil fuel burning as the only way of producing energy is de-energizing the planet. Oil is largely non-renewable and, when burned is damaging to the environment. This leads us to the ultimate question of “why are they doing this?” Oil is a capital good that can be controlled. Controlling and manipulating this resource will secure their place in the profit system. Using regenerative sources of energy that are affordable by any household or small enterprise will improve the environment and lives of the people but can have staggering ill effects to the profit of those who control the system.

Application of sustainability principles to the profit system is a contradiction. When renewable energy, coming from the earth’s resources (which is not owned by any single individual or corporation), is used to power up economy and enterprises, the profit interests of the oil cartel will be displaced. Consequently and similarly, manufacturers of other industries produce materials and technologies that easily break down or reach their obsolete stage faster than they should. This is to generate more demands from repeat and new generation customers. Although this practice contributes large amounts of waste that pollutes the earth, in the profit system competition, this is the only way to sustain. Sustainability is the adversary of profitability.

Without false hopes of deliverance from powers-that-be, the micro-no-more movement continues to advocate for the realization of economically-self-sustaining communities (ESSCs). As a jumpstart to integrating renewable energy in the financial services for the poor communities, Engr. Douglas Philip Emperado was invited, as resource speaker by SEEDFINANCE during the 2009 Stakeholders Conference, to reinforce the claim of the movement that the use of renewable energy in micro-enterprise development is not just responsible but also doable in the Philippines.

For what is financial service if it is not applied to projects that bring about sustainability to environment and households?

INITIATIVES ON RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES
By: Engr. Douglas Philip D. Emperado

Renewable energies are energy sources that are continually replenished by nature: water, the sun, the wind, and the plants (biomass). Renewable Energy Technologies turn these sources of energy from nature into usable forms of energy – most often electricity, heat, chemicals, or mechanical power.

Aside from the more popular and accessible solar power, there are other technologies that are readily available and doable in the Philippines:

1. Micro Hydro Power Plant (Falling Water )

• Is a power conversion system, absorbing power in the form of head (drop in height) and flow, and delivering power in the form of electricity or mechanical shaft power;
• It has a capacity range from 1–100 kW
• Ideal for off-grid electrification for communities with hydropower potential
• It uses a run-of-river scheme to minimize environmental damage
• Capable of providing power to small industries or other productive end-uses of electricity
• Easy to operate and maintain
• Replacement parts locally available

2. Tidal Current Energy System (Ocean Current)

• Also called as “underwater mils” – proposed as demo projects in Hinatuan passage (Surigao) & in Bernardino Strait (Samar)
• applicable for island communities with strong tidal current;

3. Ocean Thermal Energy Converter (OTEC):

• Ocean Temperature
• an energy technology that converts solar radiation to electric power using the ocean’s thermal gradient – the fact that the ocean’s layers of water have different temperatures – to drive a power-producing cycle;
• as long as the temperature between the warm surface water and the cold deep water differs by about 20 °C (36 °F) that is not more than about 1,000 meters below the surface, an OTEC system can produce a significant amount of power;
• is very promising as an alternative energy resource for tropical communities that rely heavily on imported fuel;
• aside from power, OTEC could provide islanders with desalinated water;
• Favored locations include those with narrow shelves (volcanic islands), steep (15-20 deg.) offshore slopes, and relatively smooth sea floors to minimize the length of the cold-water intake pipe;
• Land-based plant could be built well inland from the shore, offering more protection from storms, easy access for construction and operation helps lower the cost of generated electricity

4. Hydraulic Ram Pump (Falling Water)

• Applicable to upland communities where spring water sources are located at lower elevation than its service areas
• It is an ideal machine for water pumping if certain conditions are satisfied, because it works solely on the power from falling water carried in a pipe from a spring, stream or river, without any need for an additional power source
• It is completely automatic, and has an exceptional record of trouble free operation and capable of lifting water to heights of over 100 meters
• It has only two moving parts, and these are very simple and easy to maintain

5. Solar Photo Voltaic (PV) System (Solar Insulation)

• Photovoltaic comes from combining two words, the Greek word “PHOTOS” meaning light, and the word “VOLTAIC” which is a development of the name of the Italian scientist Alessandro Volta who studied electricity
• Hence, PHOTOVOLTAIC is the direct conversion of sunlight into electricity
• Solar PV is already commercially available and widely used now for
• Solar home systems
• Solar PV Battery Charging Station
• Solar PV Water Pumping Station
• Telecommunications
• Lighthouses and other navigational facilities
• Hybrid Systems (PV/Conventional or PV/Other NRE)

6. Wind Mill for Pumping Water:

• Wind Energy
• Applicable for pumping potable water or for irrigation

7. Spiral Magnus Wind Turbine (Features)

• Low speed rotation, exceptionally quiet operation, and long lasting durability
• Innovation designed to put your idea of environmental protection into practice
• Excellent power generating capacity and stability enhanced by Spiral Effect

Summary of Resources:

• Geothermal Resource – 1,200 MW
• Hydropower – 13,000 MW
• Wind resources – 76,600 MW
• Micro-hydro – vast potential capacity of micro-hydro still to be identified
• Solar Energy – potential average of 5.0 – 5.1 kWh/m2/day
• Ocean energy – 170,000 MW
• Biomass (bagasse) total potential of 250 MMBFOE

Energy Sector Objectives:

• Ensure sufficient, stable, secure, accessible and reasonably-priced energy supply
• Pursue cleaner and efficient energy utilization and clean technologies adoption
• Cultivate strong partnership and collaboration with key partners and stakeholders
• Empower and protect welfare of various energy publics

Renewable Energy Goals: Increase RE-based capacity by 100% by 2013

• Be the number one geothermal energy producer in the world
• Be the number one wind energy producer in Southeast Asia
• Double hydro capacity by 2013
• Expand contribution of biomass, solar and ocean energy by 131 MW

Increase non-power contribution of RE to the energy mix by 10 MMBFOE in the next ten years

RE Policies and Strategies:

• Diversify energy mix in favor of indigenous RE resources
• Promote wide-scale use of RE as alternative fuels and technologies
• Transform Negros island as a model of RE development and utilization
• Make the Philippines a manufacturing hub for PV cells to facilitate development of local manufacturing industry for RE equipment and components
• Encourage greater private sector investments and participation in RE development through market-based incentives
• Establish responsive market mechanisms for RE-generated power
• Formulate an effective management program for fuelwood utilization with the view of reducing environmental impact

Incentives for RE Projects & Activities: (RE Bill Sec. 13)

• Tax and duty-free importation of RE machinery, equipment and materials within the first ten (10) years of an RE contract;
• Tax Credit on Domestic Capital Equipment and Services;
• Special Real Property Tax Rates on machinery, equipment and other improvements;
• Income Tax Holiday and Exemption for the first six (6) years of its commercial operations;
• Net Operating Loss Carryover (NOLCO);
• Accelerated Depreciation;
• Exemption from the Universal Charge;
• VAT Zero-Rated

http://questionpro.com/t/CGmDkZDPUkB

All responses will be secured. Thank you in advance for your valuable input. Your input will be used to ensure that we continue to meet your needs at the best way possible. We appreciate your trust and look forward to serving you in the future.

Survey Closing date is January 31, 2010

SEEDFINANCE Corporation

ENCASH has made great inroads in providing ATM service to the Philippine countryside. As the first Independent ATM Deployer in the Philippines, ENCASH provides privately-owned ATMs to areas not deemed viable by commercial banks, allowing users in remote locations to conveniently obtain access to their finances. An ENCASH ATM may be found in over seventy (70) partner rural banks, cooperatives, tourist destinations, town halls and other partner entities in more than forty (40) provinces all over the country.

ENCASH started its operations on December 2007 with only five (5) ATMs. In twenty-three (23) months, ENCASH has more than one hundred twenty-two (122) deployed ATMs in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The ENCASH ATM network is now considered to be the 4th largest in the MegaLink community and 10th in the entire industry of sixty (60) financial institutions. ENCASH intends to deploy its 200th ATM by early 2010 at the latest. All ATMs are brand new, compliant with security standards such as 3 DES and EMV, the standards for “smart” cards.

“Through mutually cooperative efforts with our partners, we have carved a niche for our community within the industry.  We intend to continuously evolve to be a relevant service to the people,” stated Eric Severino, ENCASH President. “We remain cautiously optimistic about our performance. Our partnerships with rural banks, cooperatives, marketing entities, and even a diocesan project of the Catholic Church are encouraging proof that indeed, we play a key role in the lives of our countrymen,” he opined.

On September 10, 2009, ENCASH achieved a new feat with successful ATM withdrawal transactions hitting the one (1) million mark, while ENCASH ATMs dispensed more than Php 3 Billion for the year. On the month of October 2009 alone, withdrawal transactions hit a peak of one hundred seventy-nine thousand, one hundred twenty-nine (179,129). The amount dispensed is now circulating in many communities throughout the Philippines, helping boost the local economies and enhancing the financial independence of country folk.

ENCASH users include pensioners, OFW recipients, government employees, and even students. “Our customer base is quite broad, all of them based in the provinces,” Severino pointed out.

ENCASH is not only making giant strides in the deployment of ATMs, but also in the installation of SAVANT, ENCASH’s core banking software. SAVANT is a modern, world-class software suite, compliant with Philippine Financial Reporting Standards (PFRS). SAVANT enables banks to automatically produce reports required by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Among its many capabilities, it allows bank management to perform complex data analysis and rapid system-wide query so critical to strategy, effective management decision making and institutional development.

SAVANT capabilities also fulfill requirements of thrift banks and cooperatives. Within 2010, it will replace competition at The Real Bank. The thrift bank located in Quezon City is in the process of migrating its deposit, loans, General Ledger systems and ATM switch to SAVANT. The Real Bank joins GM Bank, Bank of Florida, 1st Valley Bank, 1st TRuBank, New Rural Bank of Agoncillo, Century Rural Bank and Bangko Kabayan in installing this online, real-time software. The latest to join this group is Unity Bank in Pampanga, who will also install the full suite of SAVANT.

“Given its capabilities and the initial acceptance of the market, the company is working to ensure that SAVANT becomes the software of choice for rural banks, thrift banks and cooperatives,” Severino determined.

Meanwhile, Gata Daku Multi-purpose Cooperative (GDMPC) in Misamis Occidental will be the first cooperative to install a SAVANT ATM Savings module. GDMPC will start issuing ATM cards very soon.

As more rural and other financial institutions join the ENCASH network, more Filipinos in the countryside will benefit from these; providing a compelling reason for the company to continuously improve its services and deploy more ATMs.

On the one hand many people are concerned that those responsible for the financial problems are the ones being bailed out, while on the other hand, a global financial meltdown will affect the livelihoods of almost everyone in an increasingly inter-connected world. The problem could have been avoided, if ideologues supporting the current economics models weren’t so vocal, influential and inconsiderate of others’ viewpoints and concerns.

More:
http://www.globalissues.org/article/768/global-financial-crisis

Dubbed as the Islands Activation Program, the initiative will utilize Smart Money as a fast and secure alternative to send and receive funds in islands or areas where there is little or no access to formal financial services, and will benefit members of close to a hundred microfinance institutions in various parts of the Philippines.

The program comes at the heels of the successful launch of the Smart Money Center in Polillo Island in 2008. In October 2008, the Polillo Group of Islands found its financial channels to the mainland cut off. The only rural bank went bankrupt, while the National Telecommunications Center ceased its telegraphic transfer operations in the area. The nearest bank, located in the Philippine mainland, was three hours away by boat.

SMART partnered with the island’s leading cooperative, Rhudarda Multipurpose Cooperative, to unveil the first Polillo Smart Money Center, which allowed residents to send and receive cash in an instant without having to experience long boat rides to the mainland, complex service charges and remittance delays. The fast and secure mobile-initiated fund transfers in Polillo now take place at the speed of a text message and are made possible via the award-winning Smart Money platform. This same remittance model will be rolled out in key provinces of Visayas and Mindanao under the Islands Activation Program.

Since 2000, SMART has been actively promoting the use of mobile-based financial services and microfinance solutions, through the revolutionary Smart Money—the world’s first electronic cash card linked to a mobile phone. Through Smart Money, SMART subscribers are able to conduct mobile banking, electronic money transfers, micro-purchases and micro-payments with just a few clicks on a cellular phone with a SMART SIM. In September 2008, Smart Communications, Inc. was the only Philippine Company to receive a World Business and Development Award given by the International Chamber of Commerce, Prince of Whales International Business Leaders Forum and United Nations Development Programme. Smart’s core business and programs, including its MFI Program initiatives, were cited for changing the way Filipinos communicate and for addressing the needs of the bottom of the pyramid (BOP).

Contest is open to any of the 67 presently active PFIs (partners) of SEEDFINANCE

INSTRUCTIONS TO CONTEST PARTICIPANTS

1. Please limit the video session from 30-seconds up to a maximum of 2 minutes.
2. Adobe Photoshop and other enhancements to the video are strongly discouraged.
3. The video cannot be a slide show of several photographs.
4. Each participating PFI (partner) is allowed five (5) video entries per category.
5. Entries must be accompanied by the following information: name of the subject client, address, name of PFI, date video was taken.
6. Old videos are not allowed; entry must not be more than 3 months old.
7. PFI (partner) must inform the client that her/his video will be submitted as an entry to this contest, and SEEDFINANCE shall retain copyrights to the video thereafter.
8. By submitting the entry, the PFI waives any and all rights to the video.

Judging of winners will be on November 21, 2009. All entries shall be featured in the Micro No More Conference during session breaks. The panel of judges shall include SF directors, management and staff, and creative friends of SF. There will only be one winning entry. The PFI and the client both win a prize. All entries will be featured in the www.seedfinance.net and www.micronomore.com websites.

Mark your calendar on Nov. 26-27, 2009 in Luzon!

• Choose from several concurrent workshop sessions and plenary briefings
• Have a meeting of minds with partners in the SEEDFINANCE Network and other strategic partners
• Network with fellow development workers and providers of support and services
• Enter your award-winning video for this year’s video-shoot event
• Attend the fellowship night and elect your representatives
• Learn the latest in economically self-sustainable communities and social impact.

Consistently as in years past, this year’s conference again promises you more in learning, sharing, projecting, visioning and rising above the challenges!

Watch out for more upcoming audio-visual & online bulletins!

Mrs. Dionesia Dela Pena of Oroquieta City combines the roles of mother and businesswoman with pizzazz. Needing to supplement the family coffers, she started out years ago on a home-based suman-making micro-enterprise, balancing her time in carrying out her household duties of cooking and washing and what-have-yous and managing the business. Typical of tourist destinations, Oroquieta has its share of local delicacies and pasalubongs, but Aling Dionesia’s suman has that distinct taste and quality that locals and tourists alike swear to. As locals are fond to exaggerate, Aling Dionesia’s suman is ‘something to die for’.

With the capital she borrowed from Paglaum MPC’s microfinance program, Aling Dionesia not only made ends meet but grew her business into a family affair. When her son John Paul married, mother Dionesia took to teaching daughter-in-law Lyn the ropes of suman-making. Lyn herself is one enterprising lady, who not only took to the business like fish takes to water but made efforts to improve her skills. She attended business development workshops and applied them to the business. This mother-and-daughter-in-law tandem kept to prudential business practices, consistently adhering to Paglaum MPC’s microfinance discipline, which led to their credit line with Paglaum being increased and diversified. From the P3,000 initial loan, Lyn is on her 14th cycle already, with a Ph14,000 facility in addition to a motor-vehicle loan used to acquire a delivery van for her wares. From 300 pieces sold five years ago, the average daily production now stands at 1,000. From shot-in-the-dark sales then, the business now enjoys regular local orders plus orders for abroad as pasalubong. Where before there were only Dionesia, John Paul, and Lyn manning the business, now neighbors are employed as grinders, packers, banana leaves cleaners, and sales and delivery agents.

This micro-enterprise literally flies, as Aling Dionesia’s suman continues to fly around the world, brought home by balikbayans and tourists as a cherished, tasty pasalubong. Patikim naman, Aling Dionesia!