File photo by Leo Bautista
The Overseas Filipino Bank (OFBank) and the Philippine Embassy in Qatar will host the final of four-sessions of financial webinar at 2pm through Zoom, with a live stream on Facebook.
The final webinar is themed “When you are ready to do business. The Landbank OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker) Reintegration Program.”
According to the Landbank, a government-owned bank in the Philippines, the OFW Reintegration Program is a tie-up between the bank and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), where business opportunities are provided to OFWs. “With our credit assistance, you can now put up and run your own business as an alternative to your overseas employment,” it said.
Eligible borrowers are OFWs certified by OWWA on membership and capacity-building programme. Projects which are eligible are belonging but not limited to the fields of franchising, agri and non-agri production and marketing, construction, rental, service, trading, transportation, and a contract tie-up with top 1,000 corporations.
Minimum loanable amount of Php100,000 with the following loan ceilings: Php2m for single proprietorship, and Php5m for group of OFWs (partnership, corporation, or cooperative). The interest rate for both short and long term loan is 7.5 percent per annum fixed for the duration of the loan. And the loan repayment for short term is maximum one year, while for loan term – based on cash flow but not to exceed seven years, inclusive of a maximum two years grace period on principal.
The Filipino community expressed their interest in attending the fourth webinar.
Yasmine, who is working as an administrative officer in the country for six years said the webinar has opened opportunities for her to invest her hard-earned money in a business and real estate.
“I have attended the last three sessions, and it helped me a lot on deciding which area to invest. “The webinar is also a reminder that being an overseas worker is not for a lifetime, and investing is one way of ensuring my financial freedom.”
When asked about her future plans, Hannah David, who had also attended the first three webinars, stated she was unsure of the ideal industry to invest in.
“I have enough savings, but I’m still debating whether to invest it in technology, hospitality or food and beverage industry.
“The financial webinar taught me important lessons that will influence how I make decisions now as a businesswoman.”
