4,000 QC startups get P5,000 to P20,000 capital assistance

By: Dennis Gutierrez - 3 years ago

Mayor Joy Belmonte with the 1,019 PangkabuhayanQC beneficiaries

MANILA, Philippines — PangkabuhayanQC, city hall’s training and financial assistance program handed out P5,000 to P 20,000 to the fourth batch of displaced workers, micro-entrepreneurs, returning OFWs, unemployed solo parents and persons with disabilities.

Around 1,019 recipients were approved after necessary screening and verification to check if the person’s current or planned business model is legitimate or with duplicate applications. They were beneficiaries who applied online and offline from September 27 to October 1. Each were provided mentorship and management training on how to run their business.

The city government has allotted P150 million for the program’s first phase and screening was handled by QC Small Business and Cooperatives Development Promotions Office (SBCDPO).

Program head Celine Yap explained that there are now 4,000 beneficiaries since its launching in September 6. She assured that they will prioritize those with existing businesses or planning to start their own business as a way to recover from the pandemic.

For her part, Mayor Joy Belmonte reiterated that her objective, aside from helping displaced workers, is to encourage business activity for swift economic recovery from the pandemic.”

“For those who are planning to start their own business, the local government still has other programs for start-up micro and small entrepreneurs. We are focused on economic recovery and we assure QCitizens that our focus is on helping our business owners,” Belmonte added.

She also thanked the city’s partner-stakeholders who also witnessed the payout for the fourth batch, namely the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for business registration, San Miguel Corporation for business ideas training, Cebuana Lhuillier for business insurance and GCash for online, contactless banking and bills payment.