ADB extends $115-M loan for women-led businesses

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed a $115-million loan agreement with Asialink Finance Corp. aimed at supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs), particularly those owned by women in the Philippines.

- By LOUELLA DESIDERIO

In a statement yesterday, the multilateral lender said the agreement was signed by ADB director general for private sector operations Suzanne Gaboury and Asialink CEO Robert Jordan Jr. in Manila.

The financing package—$50 million loan from ADB, $50 million from HSBC and $15 million from Security Bank Corp.—is expected to expand Asialink's working capital and support SMEs, especially those owned by women.

In particular, it will increase Asialink's total loans to SMEs to around P13 billion from P8.8 billion, with more than half of the financing targeted for women-owned SMEs.

The project aims to nearly double Asialink's female entrepreneur borrowers to at least 20,000, as well as launch solutions tailored to women business owners' needs.