{"id":179194,"date":"2025-10-04T17:41:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T17:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/179194\/"},"modified":"2025-10-04T17:41:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-04T17:41:09","slug":"asialink-wais-loan-drives-inclusive-growth-for-women-in-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/179194\/","title":{"rendered":"Asialink WAIS loan drives inclusive growth for women in business"},"content":{"rendered":"

Women entrepreneurs are vital to building resilient and diverse economies. As catalysts of progress, they fuel innovation, expand opportunities for social mobility, and combine strategic acumen with a distinctive leadership style.<\/p>\n

As a vital segment of the micro, small, and medium enterprise sector, women entrepreneurs remain key drivers of growth but often face barriers that limit their potential. Chief among these is limited access to financial capital, which continues to be a primary hurdle to their success.<\/p>\n

To support women entrepreneurs in securing financing to grow their businesses, Asialink Finance Corp. in July launched the Women\u2019s Access to Inclusive Support (WAIS) loan.<\/p>\n

Flexible, inclusive, and built for growth<\/p>\n

With the support of Asian Development Bank and International Finance Corp., the WAIS loan allows women-led medium, small and micro enterprises (MSMEs) to borrow up to P20 million, depending on collateral and repayment terms.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rates start at 0.99 percent, with flexible repayment options of up to 60 months without the need for post-dated checks.<\/p>\n


\n \"Eleanor
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Eleanor Yap, chief operating officer of Asialink Finance Corp.; Samuel Cari\u00f1o, president and CEO of Asialink Finance Corp.; Jolina Magdangal, newly appointed WAIS loan brand ambassador; and Antonia Y. Lugtu, Asialink Group executive. | Contributed photo <\/p>\n

\u201cThe WAIS Loan is our response to a financing gap that has long been overlooked, especially for women-led MSMEs. What sets WAIS apart is its inclusive eligibility framework: it empowers women operating under diverse business structures, whether as sole proprietors, partners, or corporate leaders, expanding access to capital and enabling more women to elevate their ventures,\u201d says\u00a0Eleanor Yap, chief operating officer of Asialink Finance Corp.\u00a0<\/p>\n

P500M worth loans<\/p>\n

Since the launch of WAIS loan, Asialink has disbursed more than P500 million to women entrepreneurs across the country. Leveraging the company’s extensive network of 250 branches nationwide, 1,025 women have already accessed the product without incurring additional travel costs.<\/p>\n

It has provided capital to expand businesses in industries ranging from retail and services to agribusiness. The surge in demand affirms the capacity of women-led MSMEs to drive progress and the need for more financial tools that enable them to thrive.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur growth shows the strong demand for financing solutions designed for women-led MSMEs, a sector that drives inclusive economic development,\u201d says\u00a0Samuel Cari\u00f1o, president and CEO of Asialink Finance Corp.<\/p>\n

The financial product has contributed to Asialink\u2019s strong performance this year, reaching about P1 billion in total loan disbursements across its portfolio. Women-owned MSMEs now make up 57 percent of Asialink\u2019s portfolio, underscoring their role in driving local enterprises.<\/p>\n


\n \"Jolina
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Jolina Magdangal and Eleanor Yap, COO of Asialink Finance Corp.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Financial sustainability<\/p>\n

Yap adds that maintaining a healthy loan portfolio is central to Asialink\u2019s operations. Its nonperforming loan ratio remains low at 1.5 percent, underscoring the strength and stability of its portfolio.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe closely track these metrics and apply a proactive, multi-layered credit risk management framework to ensure long-term sustainability,\u201d she says in an email interview with\u00a0InsiderPH.<\/p>\n

To assess the creditworthiness of \u00a0borrowers, Yap says Asialink implements a program that equips credit officers with the skills to assess and reconstruct borrowers\u2019 financial positions, even without formal financial statements.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since many underserved entrepreneurs cannot meet traditional bank requirements, officers gather alternative data\u2014such as invoices, sales records, and bank deposits\u2014to build a clear picture of each borrower\u2019s financial capacity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maintaining a strong and resilient capital base, she says, ensures that Asialink will achieve its long-term goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe adhere to a prudent capital adequacy model, continuously monitoring our key financial metrics to manage risk and support future growth. Our approach is designed to balance robust capitalization with efficient use of resources,\u201d she adds.\u00a0<\/p>\n


\n \"From
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

From left: Meynard Mendoza, finance director of Asialink Group; Eleanor Yap, chief operating officer of Asialink Finance Corp.; Jolina Magdangal, WAIS loan brand ambassador; Samuel Cari\u00f1o, president and CEO of Asialink Finance Corp.; and Antonia Y. Lugtu, member of the Asialink Group board of directors, sign the partnership agreement. | Contributed photo\u00a0 (Click to view full image) <\/p>\n

Wais loan ambassador<\/p>\n

To further enhance the visibility and impact of the WAIS loan, Asialink partnered with actress and TV host\u00a0Jolina Magdangal\u00a0as the product\u2019s official ambassador.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith Jolina as our ambassador, we aim to strengthen the visibility and impact of the WAIS Loan, enabling more Filipina entrepreneurs to access the capital they need to expand, create jobs, and contribute to nation-building,\u201d says Cari\u00f1o.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Magdangal, who has also ventured into business, is widely regarded as a relatable voice for Filipino women. Through her partnership with WAIS, she hopes to inspire more women to confidently pursue entrepreneurship.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing what the WAIS Loan has accomplished in such a short time is truly inspiring. It proves that when women are given access to the right financial tools, they can turn ideas into businesses and businesses into livelihoods,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Yap underscores the importance of developing more innovative products to be able to fill the financing gap and effectively connect with the underserved MSMEs, particularly women entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n

From financing gaps to a nationwide impact<\/p>\n

\u201cThe gap between their needs and their access to financing is still very wide. That\u2019s why our focus now is on developing innovative products, strengthening repayment support, and expanding delivery channels to ensure our solutions truly reach those who need them most,\u201d she adds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She says that Asialink\u2019s three to five year growth strategy centers on four pillars: strategic expansion, product innovation, market penetration, and strategic partnerships, to drive sustainable and profitable growth.<\/p>\n

Founded in 1997, Asialink has grown into a nationwide network with 2,000 employees, 5,000 loan consultants, and over 250 branches. Guided by its core values and mission to \u201chelp someone today,\u201d it provides accessible financial solutions to both businesses and individuals, particularly in underserved sectors, with a vision to become Asia\u2019s most preferred nonbank financial institution by 2030.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Women entrepreneurs are vital to building resilient and diverse economies. As catalysts of progress, they fuel innovation, expand…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":179195,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[84,4203,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-179194","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entrepreneurship","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-entrepreneurship","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179194\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}