A MICROBUSINESS owner in Davao City was able to expand her business by availing bank loans.
Arlene Bucay, who owns a salon in Ilustre, said she was able to sustain her business after loaning from BPI BanKo Direct, Inc. through its NegosyoKo Loan program.
The BPI BanKo Direct, Inc. is a subsidiary of Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI).
She said she was able to borrow P50,000 up to P90,000 from BPI BanKo Direct, Inc.’s NegosyoKo Loan program and she has been doing it for three years.
“Ginainvest nako ni sa mga medisina sa parlor. Ginapuno nako siya pag daghan ang kliyente nato nga muabot gikan sa ibang bansa lalo na pag December, marami tayong stock. (I invested in hair treatments so we can have more stocks in case many foreign clients arrive especially in December),” she said.
She said she availed of the NegosyoKo loans because of the convenient application processes, payment methods, and low-interest rates.
“Okay ang BPI BanKo kay makatabang siya nga walay daghang kuskos, wala ginalisod lisod ang mga negosyante kung unsa ang man ang documents. Dali lang kaayo ang proseso (The BPI BanKo is helpful because it is not hassle in terms of complying documents. The application process is also fast),” said Bucay.
“Ang maganda sa BPI BanKo, kapag nakabayad ka na sa BPI ng 75 percent, yung 25 percent pwede mo na yung marenew (The good thing about BPI BanKo is when you have paid about 75 percent, you can renew even with 25 percent loan balance,” she added.
Arlene, being a long-time client of the BPI Banko Direct Inc., is one of the micro-entrepreneurs who offered her service free during the NegosyoKo Provincial Caravan on October 22, 2019, in Bangkerohan Public Market.
The event aims to give BanKo clients a time off and invite more owners of micro-businesses such as ukay-ukay stalls, salons, barbershops, sari-sari stores, and food eateries to avail of the NegosyoKo loans.
BanKo Marketing and Customer Experience head Sacha Camus said currently, there are 483 active accounts in Davao City alone.
The subsidiary bank has nine branches in Davao Region.
Camus said the small entrepreneurs can loan for a minimum amount of P25,000 up to P300,00 with an interest of 2 to 2.3 percent depending on the amount.
She said the clients can pay weekly, bimonthly, and monthly. Their payments can either be collected, paid through cash agents or in branches.
To ensure that the money will be used for growing their business, BPI corporate affairs and communications officer Josefina Silvestre stressed that the approved amount will not be given all at once to the clients. Instead, they will only be released with the amount they currently need.
During the caravan, the existing and potential clients were also given financial literacy talk to help them manage their finances and give them ideas to grow the money they loaned.