​As part of its commitment to promoting gender equality in financial inclusion, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and Asian Development Bank (ADB), with the support of J.P. Morgan, launched a gender-focused Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (MSME) Demand-Side Survey of the Philippines. The Frankfurt School and Kadence have been engaged to design and implement the survey. The survey is a part of the BSP’s efforts to boost lending to MSMEs through and beyond the pandemic.

“Filipino women entrepreneurs dominate the country’s MSME landscape. When we support women’s access to finance, we enable the MSME sector to achieve its full potential as driver of inclusive economic growth in the country. The MSME Demand-Side Survey is thus an important initiative toward building a deeper understanding of the sector to support evidence-based policymaking and provide valuable market insights for financial service providers to strategically serve the MSMEs,” BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said.

Although women represent a vibrant part of the MSME sector, limited data and evidence restrict more targeted policies to support their unique business development needs and requirement. The survey will pioneer national level reporting on the bottlenecks, challenges as well as opportunities for women’s businesses from a demand-side perspective. It will also look at the key characteristics of the MSMEs; access and use of financial products, including digital financial products; and the impact of Covid-19 on businesses.

“This survey represents an important step towards informing the path forward to not only increase access to financial services but also to ensure they are best meeting the needs of MSMEs and women across sectors and regions of the Philippines,” said Ms. Kelly Hattel, Senior Finance Specialist, ADB.

The results of the survey are expected to be ready by Q4 2021.