PBSP’s SMEC Program honors former ambassador Tan
FORMER Ambassador Bienvenido A. Tan, one of the founders and former trustee of Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), recently retired as chairman of the Project Implementation Committee (PIC) of the Small and Medium Enterprise Credit (SMEC) Program which is being managed by PBSP.
He is succeeded by A. Magsaysay, Inc.’s Director and PBSP Trustee Roberto Umali, who, prior to this position, was the vicechairman of the PIC.
The SMEC Project Implementation Committee is composed of the Department of Finance (DoF) (owner of the SMEC fund), Chamber of Thrift Bank, Rural Bankers Association, Development Bank of the Philippines, two representatives from PBSP Board of Trustees and PBSP Program Management Team. The committee works closely together to achieve the program’s goal in poverty alleviation by bringing income and employment opportunities in the countryside.
Mr. Tan, who assumed chairmanship of PIC for six years, was also very involved in convincing DoF to extend the SMEC program until 2022. This signified their seal of confidence on PBSP’s management of the SMEC funds.
Prior to his chairmanship, Ambassador Tan already had a valuable contribution to the program, having been instrumental in getting funds from the Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW), a German development bank, for on-lending purposes.
Ambassador Tan, one of the most senior trustees in the PBSP Board with a finance background, has also guided PBSP’s projects and programs on financing and enterprise. He also served as president and executive director of PBSP. The SMEC Program supports the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises in the countryside by funding their muchneeded credit for business start-up and expansion. The credit fund is channeled to accredited conduits such as rural/cooperative banks, thrift banks and microfinance institutions for on-lending to MSMEs in the countryside. For over 25 years, SMEC disbursed some P3.2 billion in loans that benefitted close to 109,000 micro, small, and medium enterprises.