Davao City has P1M more in aid to co-ops and micro-entreps

DAVAO CITY—THE city government has still more than P1 million for ready assistance to cooperatives and micro-entrepreneurs as it prefers new clients to avail of the financial aid.

The Davao City Cooperative Development Office (DCCDO) announced that the ready money “is still available for loan disbursement to Davao City cooperatives this year.”

Donna España, supervising cooperative development specialist of DCCDO’S Planning Monitoring and Evaluation Unit, said the office would focus on new clients “while still catering to all beneficiaries of the office’s programs and projects.”

The DCCDO was mandated to prioritize small and micro cooperatives under the Enhanced Livelihood and Enterprise Assistance Program (ELEAP). Small and micro cooperatives made up 80 percent of the total number of existing cooperatives in the city.

Of the 400 active cooperatives in Davao City, 264 have been assisted by the DCCDO as of the second quarter of this year. These cooperatives were given various education and skills training. Aside from capacity-building activities, the office also granted loan assistance to small and micro cooperatives and individual entrepreneurs.

In the second quarter alone, the Cooperative Financial Assistance Program granted P300,000 to three cooperatives. The loan is payable within three years with no interest.

Twenty-six small and microentrepreneurs were awarded capital assistance under the DCCDO’S Start-up Capital Assistance program during the same period. Under this grant, entrant small businesses may avail of the start-up capital loan assistance amounting from P10,000 to P20,000 payable within a year at zero interest while operating businesses may avail of the working capital loan assistance ranging from P30,000 to P50,000 payable within three years with no interest.

Beneficiary cooperatives were those catering to indigenous peoples, person with disabilities, disadvantaged women, farmers and fisher families.

From 2014 to June 30 of this year, 72 cooperatives were granted loan assistance ranging from P100,000 to P300,000 for small and micro cooperatives and P301,000 to P1 million for medium and large scale cooperatives. A total of 9,538 cooperative members benefited from these loans.