THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has launched an initiative where young entrepreneurs who want to venture into agribusiness via the agency’s financing program can now get their loans using a cash card
On July 6, Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar partnered with PayMaya Philippines, Inc. Founder and Chief Executive Officer Orlando B. Vea on the “KAYA” cash card under the DA’s Kapital Access for Young Agripreneurs (KAYA) financing program.
Mr. Dar said that young Filipino entrepreneurs can receive their approved loan under the DA’s KAYA financing program from ATM terminals using their cash card, adding that they do not need to come to Metro Manila to get their financing.
Under the initiative, PayMaya will allow KAYA partner lending conduits to disburse loans digitally though reloadable cash cards with real-time crediting using a web-based portal.
Loan beneficiaries with the cash card will have access to other PayMaya financial services like e-wallet account, remittance, bills payment, and fund withdrawal.
“With this digital platform, we will be able to reach out and convince more Filipino millennials to engage in agriculture, fishery and agribusiness ventures, and more importantly bankroll their respective projects,” Mr. Dar said.
“As our lockdown experience has shown, we need to further explore cyberspace and take our digitalization efforts to the next level as part of the new normal,” he added.
Under the KAYA financing program, the DA’s Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) offers zero-interest, uncollateralized loans of up P500,000 and payable in five years.
Entrepreneurs aged 18 to 30 years old and are graduates of formal or non-formal schooling can avail of the said loans.
ACPC Executive Director Jocelyn Alma R. Badiola said that KAYA is the first digitized ACPC financing program. The training and mentoring components of the program are conducted through web conferencing while the disbursement and collection will be done through PayMaya.
“Now, more than ever, as we continue fulfilling our mandate of providing easy, timely, and affordable credit to farmers and fisherfolk, we are recognizing that digital financing is the way forward,” Ms. Badiola said. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
