Empowering small-medium enterprise owners to repay a part of their loan on time
Product Design UX Research UX Writing
Product Design UX Research UX Writing
In the Philippines, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are vital to the development of the economy. These businesses make up 99% of all registered companies and employ 65% of the workforce. As such, their healthy growth is essential for improving wealth distribution and creating a strong middle class.
However, a significant barrier to the growth of SMEs is access to capital, as banks often prioritize larger, more established clients with perceived lower risks. First Circle aims to address this issue by offering short-term, non-collateral loans to SMEs.
At the time, First Circle only offered bullet loans, which required SME owners to repay the entire loan (both principal and interest) in a single payment. This meant that SME owners had to save a significant amount of money before their repayment date.
To alleviate this burden, First Circle introduced an Amortized Loan Product, which allows SME owners to repay a small portion of their loan over time. With flexible loan terms, SME owners can choose when and how often they would like to make their loan repayments.
In the Philippines, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are vital to the development of the economy. These businesses make up 99% of all registered companies and employ 65% of the workforce. As such, their healthy growth is essential for improving wealth distribution and creating a strong middle class.
However, a significant barrier to the growth of SMEs is access to capital, as banks often prioritize larger, more established clients with perceived lower risks. First Circle aims to address this issue by offering short-term, non-collateral loans to SMEs.
At the time, First Circle only offered bullet loans, which required SME owners to repay the entire loan (both principal and interest) in a single payment. This meant that SME owners had to save a significant amount of money before their repayment date.
To alleviate this burden, First Circle introduced an Amortized Loan Product, which allows SME owners to repay a small portion of their loan over time. With flexible loan terms, SME owners can choose when and how often they would like to make their loan repayments.