Empowering sari-sari store owners

A total of 1,627 sari-sari store owners from Samar and Leyte provinces graduated in the PREMIUM Project on January 24, 2019 at Leyte Academic Center, Palo, Leyte. At the graduation, Dr. Jaime Aristotle B. Alip, founder and chair emeritus of CARD Mutually Reinforcing Institutions (CARD MRI), led the presentation of the PREMIUM graduates symbolic turnover of the project’s advocacy. Dr. Alip also personally meets the beneficiaries of the project, who are also microfinance clients of CARD MRI. The PREMIUM Project aims to improve the economic well-being of micro-entrepreneurs affected by Typhoon Yolanda by assisting sari-sari store owners become more resilient to all types of natural calamities. To date, CARD MRI through CARD, Inc. provided loan to 2,456 beneficiaries, which already surpassed its original target of 1,600 by the end of its run in March 2019, totaling to P35.15 million. The Project Premium is in collaboration with Government of Canada, Cooperative Development Foundation (CDF) of Canada, Hapinoy, RIMANSI, Insurance Commission (IC), and CARD, Inc.