GCash and Farm Konekt enhance farmers’ financial access

GCash, in collaboration with Farm Konekt, has launched a new initiative to provide non-collateralized loans and essential business services to farmers and fishermen, enhancing their financial capabilities.

The partnership aims to bolster the local agriculture sector through Fuse Lending, GCash’s credit arm.

Farm Konekt operates as a community-based farm management enterprise platform. It offers data-driven clustered production solutions that not only upskill farmers but also secure demand for their produce.

The services include consultancy, capacity building, and connecting producers with potential customers.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by key figures from both organizations, including Fuse Lending President and CEO Tony Isidro, GLoan Product Head Kevin Yu, Farm Konekt President and CEO John Gastanes, and Farm Konekt Chief Operations Officer Stephen Costiniano.

Isidro emphasized the alignment of this partnership with GCash’s mission.

“This partnership continues our relentless drive to serve Filipino farmers, aligning the GCash mission to serve every Filipino wherever they are. Farm Konekt’s connections with the farmer groups make them a good on-ground arm for us to better understand the needs of our farmers, who form one of the most important sectors of our economy,” he said.

Additionally, the partnership will provide farmers and fishermen access to GCash’s financial services, including GSave and GInsure, which are designed to help grow their savings and secure their finances.

“Together with GCash, we look forward to building an inclusive ecosystem that ensures farmers and fisherfolks benefit from the fast-evolving digital economy. The majority of the farmers we transact with either go through remittance centers or use GCash. To formulate a robust scoring strategy, we have focused on our core strength, which is clustered acceleration, while entrusting GCash to excel in providing inclusive financing opportunities,” Gastanes said.

The initiative kicked off with a financial literacy session for farmers in Jaen, Nueva Ecija, teaching them how to manage finances with concepts like savings, insurance, and responsible borrowing.