Fuse Financing, Inc., the lending arm of GCash, led a discussion on fair borrowing options for Filipino micro-retailers and agri-entrepreneurs at the recently concluded Agriverse Summit 2025 held in Pasay City. The event brought together agripreneurs, government officials, innovators, and small business owners to explore how technology can support business growth, boost agricultural productivity, and promote sustainable farming.
L-R) PARJV Grosolutions co-founder and Pamantasan ng Cabuyao VP planning, research and extension Dr. Jessica Domingo Rey; GCash VP and head of corporate communications and public affairs Gilda Maquilan; Philippine Association of Stores and Carinderia Owners founding and national president Ms. Elilyn S. Gadia; Fuse Financing Inc. chief product officer and strategy head Baby Aquino; and ASBF Philippines founding trustee and president Ms. Arlene Padua-Martinez
Organized by the Asia Small Business Federation (ASBF) and Philippine Association of Stores and Cardinderia Owners (PASCO), Fuse Financing chief product officer and strategy head Baby Aquino highlighted the company's commitment to restoring dignity and fairness to borrowing for the Filipino micro-retail and agricultural sector.
In a fireside chat "Digital Wallets, Local Markets: Unlocking Growth for Micro-Retail and Agribusiness," Aquino also shared how Fuse is redefining access to finance through digital technology. The company replaces exploitative informal lending with fast, fair, and transparent credit products that can be accessed real time, anytime, anywhere, through a mobile phone via your GCash e-wallet.
Fuse’s innovation lies in its end-to-end digital process. By using data-driven credit assessment and digital collection tools, the lender removes the need for physical documents or in-person applications. This allows MSMEs to access funds within minutes, validating what Aquino describes as "true empowerment."
As of the second quarter of 2025, Fuse has extended credit to 9.5 million Filipinos and disbursed P287 billion in loans. Fuse is able to extend credit to segments underserved by traditional institutions such as MSMEs and women, with one in three are small business owners and three in five borrowers are women while four out of five are from the masses (SEC C2DE), underscoring the company’s wide reach and deep impact on inclusion.
The lender’s suite of products is designed to meet the different financing needs of small entrepreneurs. GLoan offers larger cash loans for business owners of up to P350,000, to support their business capital and growth, while GLoan Sakto, a sachet-type loan, enables eligible customers to borrow for as low as Php 100- an ideal option for the regular customers or the “sukis” of sari-sari stores, instead of them constantly borrowing from sari-sari store owners. This also relieves them of the hassle of collecting those small loans owners. Often used as “pambale,” borrowing even as small as P100 can give customers who were traditionally sidelined by formal credit institutions, an opportunity to build a formal credit history. This approach helps everyday Filipinos transition from informal borrowing toward long-term, sustainable growth.
Aquino emphasized that Fuse’s mission is to make formal lending accessible to every Filipino entrepreneur. "’Yung philosophy kasi talaga ng GCash is to allow Filipinos to borrow with dignity. Dapat ‘yong mga produkto namin ay klaro, fair, and transparent. (GCash operates on a philosophy that aims to allow Filipinos to borrow with dignity. Our products are clear, fair, [and] transparent),” she said.
Aquino concluded that the future of small businesses in the Philippines, especially in the agri-tech sector, depends on three essentials: access to finance, access to markets, and access to technology. Through digital innovation, Fuse and GCash aim to make these opportunities available to every Filipino entrepreneur.
For more information, please visit www.gcash.com.
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