Financing gap huge for SMEs in Philippines

With most small businesses citing access to finance as one of their biggest challenges, most of those in Asia rely on banks to get the funding to scale up. According to estimates, there remains a huge financing gap for SMEs in the Philippines.
The Department of Trade and Industry places it at P180 billion, while PhilExport places it at P67 billion. Another firm, Nangia Vaillancourt, estimates it at P170 billion. For Dr. Mario Lamberte, project team leader of the USAID-Philippines Advancing Philippine Competitiveness (Compete) Project, the real gap is “grossly underestimated.”