Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno said Tuesday there is a need to raise the full potential of micro, small and medium enterprises to enable them to contribute significantly to economic growth.
Diokno said inclusive growth meant everybody should be involved, including small businesses in the country.
“MSMEs warrant a special focus in our financial inclusion work. We can’t talk about inclusive growth without the MSMEs,” he said during the 17th Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards held at the Bangko Sentral.
“As of now, 6.2 percent out of the total loan portfolio is the exposure of banks to MSMEs,” Diokno said.
The Philippines is a nation of micro, small and medium enterprises. More than 99 percent of the total number of establishments in the country are MSMEs. In terms of employment, small firms accounted for more than 60 percent or 3.4 million jobs.