Case Study
Vessel for Change and Growth: Microfinance for Women
Contributing to the national and global poverty alleviation efforts
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This paper discusses MILAMDEC Foundation’s Tibod sa Barangay project that aimed to increase the incomes of rural poor people through cost-effective financial services delivery.
MILAMDEC sought to reach out to disadvantaged sectors, particularly entrepreneurial poor women in rural areas. These women comprised a large chunk of the country’s informal sector, and were cut off from the formal banking system. Tibod sa Barangay is a replication of the Grameen Bank model, and currently has 14 branches in eight of Mindanao’s 25 provinces. It:
- Plans to diversify into insurance, in response to members’ needs;
- Invests in gender seminars and livelihood training to members;
- Proves the validity of microfinance as a sustainable poverty alleviation tool;
- Demonstrated flexibility by moving from the Grameen model of group liability to a model that used individual accountability;
- Has demonstrated phenomenal growth, with two of its branches being absorbed into rural banks.
The Tibod sa Barangay project challenges the mindset of the conventional banking system, and proves that the poor, particularly women, are credit worthy.
