THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched an initiative aimed at helping small businesses and startups tap the capital market.
The Call-a-Friend and Engage with SEC (CAFE SEC) platform was unveiled after the SEC wrapped up nationwide capital market roadshows for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and startups last week in Tacloban.
CAFE SEC will offer roadshow participants an opportunity to reconnect with crowdfunding intermediaries and the Philippine Stock Exchange for inquiries relating to financing needs as well as capital market-based products and services.
Crowdfunding intermediaries refer to a registered broker, investment house or funding portal that mediates the offer and sale of crowdfunding securities through an online electronic platform, the commission noted.
As part of the initiative, the SEC will conduct weekly consultation meetings starting on Wednesday, while the succeeding meetings will be held every Wednesday.
“In our continuous bid for financial inclusion, we recognize that there really is a need to broaden the financing instruments available for MSMEs,” SEC Commissioner Karlo Bello said at the final leg of the agency’s 2023 capital market roadshow.
“Together with our industry partners, we wish to present the different ways you can acquire financing through the capital market in order to jumpstart your business or expand your operations,” he added.
The SEC highlighted how crowdfunding — a fundraising activity typically organized by MSMEs to get support from the public — could help raise capital for business expansion.
The Tacloban roadshow gathered around 70 Eastern Visayas-based entrepreneurs who participated in one-on-one consultations with the speakers during break-out sessions.
Launched in February this year, the SEC’s capital market roadshow was conducted in key cities including Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga, Bacolod, Legazpi, Iloilo, Clark in Pampanga, Baguio and Metro Manila.
The yearlong roadshow, the corporate watchdog claimed, engaged approximately 1,500 in-person attendees and more than 8,000 online participants. BRIX LELIS
