Towards a financially inclusive Philippines

CARD Mutually Reinforcing Institutions (CARD MRI) and International Finance Corporation (IFC) discussed on October 17 the various development services they will continue to reinforce to be able to provide more accessible and affordable services especially to the marginalized communities in the Philippines. Access to financing and microinsurance, agricultural loans, SME development, and digital financing are among the services that will need focus as emphasized during the meeting at Citibank Tower in Makati. Dr. Jaime Aristotle B. Alip (front row, leftmost), founder and chairman emeritus of CARD MRI, presented personally to World Bank’s IFC Chief Executive Officer Philippe Le Houerou (front toe, 2nd from left) the CARD MRI way of eradicating poverty in the country. Since 1986, as highlighted by Dr. Alip, CARD MRI is in the business of poverty eradication. CARD MRI services range from financial to non-financial services that when combined together makes the approach dynamic and inclusive. CARD MRI and IFC have been working together for many development projects since 2008. Other present during the consultation meeting were: (front row, from left) CARD Pioneer Microinsurance OIC Melinda Grace Abao, CARD Mutual Benefit Association CEO May Dawat, and CARD MRI Insurance Agency President Vener Abellera; (back row, from left) Operations Officer of Lead Financial Institutions Group (FIG) Advisory Services Philippines Conrad de Jesus, Senior Investment Officer and Head of FIG Philippines Aileen Ruiz Zarate, Philippines Country Manager Jane Xu, Regional Director of East Asia Pacific Vivek Pathak, CPMI BINHI Staff Steven Ebuenga, and Adviser to the IFC CEO Nicolas Marquier.