Microfinance Focus July 11, 2011: At a recently held 2011 National Roundtable Conference in Manila, RBAP-MABS, Microenterprise Access to Banking Services, employed a “speed networking” approach to facilitate networking among rural banks and other microfinance partners in Philippines.

The approach had been initiated in order to nurture relationships and explore partnerships and business opportunities and RBAP-MABS brought together partner rural banks, insurance providers, MABS service providers (MSPs), and ATM and m-banking partners in the activity.

“Speed networking” is a social and business networking event based on speed dating and a Jewish tradition of chaperoned gatherings of young Jewish singles, originally intended to keep Jewish singles from marrying out of faith. MABS modified the original mechanics of this approach to structure a networking opportunity for its partners. The activity provided an opportunity for participants to learn about each other in a more interactive and intimate setting.

Through this activity, RBAP-MABS connected rural banks with partners offering microinsurance, mobile phone banking, and the MABS Approach. Moreover, the activity paved the way for business partnerships to increase access to microfinance clients to an array of products and services.

Microinsurance providers such as Bankers Assurance, Cocolife, Country Bankers Life Insurance, MicroEnsure Philippines, Philippine Prudential Life Insurance, Pioneer Life Inc.; ATM (automated teller machine) providers (ENCASH and InfoServe/Nationlink), MF Transparency, Punla sa Tao Foundation, and Globe Telecom’s G-Xchange Inc. (GXI), presented their products and services to rural bankers.

GXI offered the participating rural banks an opportunity to become channels for the distribution of conditional cash grants for the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).