Social Issue

The Philippines has been on a sustained growth trajectory for close to a decade, but it’s levels of poverty and income inequality are higher than most of its Southeast Asian neighbours. Financial inclusion of low-income communities is lower than its neigbours,  In 2019, only 29% of adults had a formal bank account, which could be one of the factors contributing to the persistent level of income inequality.

Our Response

Netri Foundation is supporting One Puhunan as it addresses this critical funding gap by providing low income households with credit and services they need to run their business and households..

One Puhunan focuses on providing suitable and reliable financial products and services to low income individuals and small businesses which are not served by traditional banking institutions. The majority of its clients are women who run small commercial and trading  activities and require working capital to run these businesses.

Founded in 2014, they have grown to become a substantial credit institution, One Puhunan is part of CreditAccess Asia, a group which operates in South and Southeast Asia specialised in lending to artisans and micro-enterprises.

Expected Social Impact

With this investment of the Netri Foundation, it is estimated that One Puhunan will be able to provide over 6,600 microloans, with the aim of enhancing business opportunities, income generation, and wellbeing of their clients.