Maybank mentors marginalized to become entrepreneurs

As though guided by the age-old adage, “Give a man a fish, and feed him for a day; teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime,” a Malaysian universal bank is embarking on a quest to educate a particular group of Filipinos to fend for themselves financially, in the hopes of helping them achieve “economic independence” by becoming entrepreneurs.

Maybank Foundation, in partnership with People Systems Consultancy (PSC), a company which specializes in human and organizational development, recently launched in Makati City its Reach Independence and Sustainable Entrepreneurship (Rise) Program, which is geared toward providing persons with disabilities (PWDs) and other marginalized members of society adequate financial education.

“The larger picture is to create financial inclusion, which means not leaving anybody behind in terms of economic growth and development. It’s easy to overlook these kinds of people. It’s a big group, actually; in Indonesia, they comprise about 1 percent of the population, which is a big number. But they tend to be forgotten, and they don’t get the care that they should. So for us, it’s about providing a level playing field to give them stability,” said Maybank Foundation CEO Shahril Azuar Jimin, who was at the program’s first session held in Barangay East Rembo in Makati with 34 participants, 70 percent of whom are PWDs.

“This partnership with Maybank is very special because it’s the first time we’ve come up with a program specifically for PWDs,” added Raymond Gabriel, PSC executive director.

Rise has three key components: Practical entrepreneurship training, effective mentoring and focus on income improvement, and large-scale involvement of Maybank employees. The foundation has allotted an initial P6 million for the program’s implementation in the Philippines.

The program’s first phase was rolled out in Malaysia in 2014, involving 280 PWDs, single mothers and other marginalized people, such as abused women. By April 2015, the delegates had completed the program and achieved an average income increase of around 102 percent.

In Indonesia, which, like the Philippines is part of Rise’s Phase 2, a little over 200 joined the pilot in September 2015, wherein participants saw a 90.5 percent increase in their incomes.

For the Philippines, around 200 participants will also be tapped by Maybank Foundation with the help of their chosen nongovernment organizations and the Department of Social Welfare and Development. From Metro Manila, the foundation plans to bring Rise to Cebu by March.

The program doesn’t involve loan schemes or dole-outs, stressed Jimin. Rather, it involves group training and individual coaching sessions, which will run for three to six months, designed to “equip people to be eligible to apply for financing.”

“We believe in sustainability. It shouldn’t just be a one-time [solution]. We want to touch lives meaningfully,” said Pollie Sim, Maybank International CEO.

Aside from PWDs, other people who have no access to financial tools, such as single mothers or abused women, are also welcome to apply for the program. Because Maybank wants to keep the groups small, Jimin said they screen applicants based on their motivation, desire and discipline to see the program through to the end—whether they already have their own business or not.

“The mentoring is done every two weeks in a group, and every other week in individual coaching sessions. Everything that they learn here must be implemented in their own lives,” said Gabriel.

“The participants that we take in, we don’t really screen the businesses that they do. We look at their commitment,” added Jimin.

The program’s launch also coincides with Maybank’s 20th year here in the Philippines.

In the end, Sim said the program is simply about giving these sectors the “confidence to walk into the bank and negotiate [for what they need].”

“We want them to know what’s available to them, and truly help them to become part of the community,” she said.