New organization helps disaster-stricken micro-entrepreneurs build back better
To help communities build back better after a disaster, Restart Micro-Enterprise Inc. (RestartME) was launched yesterday to provide a quick response fund to micro-entrepreneurs affected by natural or man-made disasters.
The launch, held at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel in Makati City, gathered U.S. Embassy Manila’s United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director Dr. Susan Brems, Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) Executive Director Rafael Lopa, officials from partner micro-finance institutions and civil society, leaders from the private sector and government representatives.
RestartME is an offshoot of the Micro-Enterprise Disaster Assistance Fund for Resiliency Program (MIDAS), which USAID launched in 2014 in partnership with PBSP, together with four Micro-Finance Institutions (MFIs): Center for Agriculture and Rural Development Inc. (CARD), ASA Philippines Foundation, Taytay sa Kauswagan, Inc. (TSKI), and Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation (NWTF). The program was created to provide a stimulus loan fund to micro-entrepreneurs affected by Super Typhoon Yolanda.
USAID provided the seed capital of Php176 million (US$4 million) for MIDAS, which the MFIs accessed and disbursed in the form of loans to their Yolanda-affected clients at a low rate of 4 percent per annum, and building on this success, supported the establishment of RestartME to grow and manage the resiliency fund over the long term.
“Through MIDAS, USAID supported more than 30,000 micro-entrepreneurs in Leyte to help themselves and their families, and to contribute to the rebuilding of their communities after the devastation of Typhoon Yolanda,” said Dr. Brems.
To date, the U.S. government has provided nearly US$143 million relief and rehabilitation assistance for Typhoon Yolanda survivors.
Adela Mora, a farmer and mother of four from Palo, Leyte, lost almost everything to Super Typhoon Yolanda, but through MIDAS and her will to start anew, she was able to build back her family’s source of income.
She shared, “We were fortunate to have our palay (unmilled rice) harvested on time just before the typhoon came. The sacks that were ready to be milled were already inside the house, so I thought it was safe. But I never imagined that the winds would be strong, so strong that it would destroy everything and rendering my newly harvested palay unfit for consumption. Thankfully, I was able to borrow Php10,000, which I used to hire workers to clean up my rice fields and plant more rice crops. In just a few months, my total earnings reached more than Php300,000 and I used it to pay for the next harvest season, electricity of my home, tuition fees of my children, and the rebuild my house using concrete in place of bamboo.”
Mora is one of the 30,285 micro-entrepreneurs engaged in agriculture, fishing and trading that were able to recover, rebuild their livelihoods and even start new businesses through the MIDAS Fund. It also provided business support in the form of business advice and micro-insurances which helped in making micro-enterprises more resilient.
With RestartME, more calamity-stricken micro-entrepreneurs all over the country can gain access to a quick response loan fund which can be paid at very low interest rates and flexible terms and conditions. This will enable them to rebuild their livelihood right away and hasten their immediate recovery. The organization will also provide clients with credit education, micro insurance, and trainings on disaster preparedness and savings mobilization as well as business support to enable them to be better equipped to face future disasters.
“With Restart Micro-Enterprise in place, micro-entrepreneurs will have better opportunities to cope with disasters, and be secure that growth will continue despite the challenges,” Dr. Brems said.
The long-term goal of RestartME, according to PBSP Excecutive Director, Rafael Lopa is to create a Php5 billion revolving credit for micro-enterprises to enable the organization to deliver a coordinated national response when the need comes.
“We can never tell when disasters will come or how much damage they will leave. That’s why having RestartME is a big milestone for disaster response because now, we are certain that when need comes, we will no longer worry about pooling funds. RestartME will be able to provide the assistance immediately and help our people rebuild their lives. For this reason, we also encourage other institutions to join us and contribute in growing the fund,” Lopa said.
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