The Credit Information Corporation (CIC), the country’s sole public credit registry and repository of credit information, in partnership with the Small Business Corporation (SB Corp.), will conduct a free public webinar titled, “The CIC Credit Report and potential for MSME growth,” on 26 August 2022, Friday.
The webinar session will feature financing alternatives for the micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) sector, the rights of borrowers, and the importance of building and maintaining a good credit history.
SB Corp. serves as a financing arm of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), which offers various financing and credit delivery systems to small enterprises which are deemed ‘unfinanceable.’
“As one of our registered Accessing Entities, SB Corp. submits their credit data to us and in turn, has access to the consolidated database of the CIC’s Credit Information System. Through SB Corp.’s financial services and the CIC’s database, underserved MSME segments are now provided with much-needed access to finance and at the same time, develop a visible credit footprint,” CIC President and CEO Ben Joshua A. Baltazar said.
Specifically, SB Corp. caters to MSME segments associated with higher risk and thus, encounter more difficulty securing financing from banks and other lending institutions.
These sectors include the micro and small agriculture and aquaculture enterprises, micro retailers, small island economies, MSMEs requiring rehabilitation due to natural disasters, Islamic MSMEs, Indigenous people–owned enterprises, and first-time small businesses.
PCEO Baltazar shared that enabling broader access to CIC’s credit reporting system to drive financial inclusion has always been a key priority of the government.
“We have been prioritizing the registration and onboarding of digital banks, microfinance institutions, as well as non-bank financing institutions, to accelerate the incorporation of the unbanked and underbanked MSMEs into the formal financial system,” PCEO Baltazar said.
To date, the CIC database contains the credit data of millions of small business owners and over 105,000 companies or corporations, the majority of which are MSMEs.
Be #creditworthy with the CIC Academy
“Through this webinar, we will promote the importance of the CIC Credit Report to empower our MSMEs to be finance-ready. This is so that they can have improved access to funding and scale their businesses further, through cost-effective financing. Additionally by providing MSMEs a gateway to the formal financial sector, they will be better protected by the relevant laws and regulations as well as provide them an alternative to availing loans from unregulated and informal sources,” PCEO Baltazar shared.
The webinar, which is under the CIC’s flagship educational program “CIC Academy,” will feature resource speakers from the CIC, Mr. Valdimir H. Dela Cruz, Senior Vice President of the Business Development and Communications Group, and SB Corp., Mr. Wally Don G. Calderon, Manager for Planning Department.
Register for free at bit.ly/CICAcademy2022Aug26 and join the webinar via Zoom or Facebook Live to receive a certificate of participation.
Email us at communications@creditinfo.gov.ph or follow the official Facebook page of CIC for the latest information and updates on CIC’s activities and events.
The Credit Information Corporation (CIC), a government-owned and controlled corporation, was created by Republic Act No. 9510, otherwise known as the Credit Information System Act (CISA). The primary mandate of CIC is to establish a comprehensive and centralized credit information system for the collection and dissemination of fair and accurate information relevant to, or arising from, credit and credit-related activities of all entities participating in the ecosystem.
