Mayani, a leading agritech startup, has partnered with GCash, the Philippines’ largest mobile wallet, to bridge the nation’s agri-credit gap and empower rural farmers and fisherfolks. This collaboration will leverage Mayani’s supply chain data and GCash’s extensive reach to provide accessible and affordable loans to underserved communities.
In this partnership, GCash will utilize Mayani’s supply chain data to co-facilitate loans for organized farmers and fisherfolks. The aim is to provide a production lifeline, boost yields, and improve their capacity to meet market demand—all while helping farmers establish a credit track record in a bid to boost rural financial inclusion.
Founded in 2019 by Jeff Barreiro, Josef Amarra, Lance Villanueva, JT Solis, and Ochie San Juan, Mayani is a comprehensive agri-fisheries value chain platform, establishing essential connections for smallholder farmers and fisherfolks to access markets, inputs, and credit in rural areas. By directly sourcing fresh produce, seafood, and various agricultural products from more than 139,000 organized smallholders, Mayani efficiently distributes to over 30,000 retail customers and 230 commercial stores.
Initially funded through grants from Asian Development Bank and Japan International Cooperation Agency, Mayani currently operates three value-creation lines: Mayani Farm Direct for market linkage, Mayani Agri-Inputs for seeds, feeds, and fertilizer distribution, and Mayani Fin-Assist for production financing.
The agritech startup’s initiative to make loans more accessible to farmers and fisherfolk aligns with the country’s efforts to close the agricultural credit gap. Despite a 19.3% increase in loans extended by Philippine banks to the nation’s agricultural and agrarian reform sector in 2022, totaling P851.76 billion, the country still falls short of the 25% threshold mandated by Republic Act 10000 or the Agri-Agra Reform Credit Act of 2009.
“By leveraging on modern technology’s financial transformation, agriculture, which is one of the most important industries of our nation, can experience rapid growth and sustainability. We are honored to have Mayani onboard as one of our key partners as we continue introducing innovations that will help connect farmers with finance and enhance the power of financial inclusion in the Philippines,” said Tony Isidro, President and CEO of Fuse Lending, the licensed lending arm of Mynt.
The first batch of borrowers will come from agricultural cooperatives and associations in Batangas province, one of Mayani’s rural strongholds. Mayani also has plans to integrate its comprehensive proprietary technology stack with GCash’s, focusing on leveraging their lending balance sheet, expanding outreach, and streamlining the loan approval to e-wallet disbursement infrastructure.
Smallholder farmers and fisherfolk can readily access production loans supported by Mayani’s proven track record of commercial success. By utilizing Mayani’s agricultural inputs, such as seeds and feeds, they can significantly reduce credit risk. Since 2016, Fuse, the lending arm of leading fintech company Mynt, has disbursed over 100 billion pesos ($1.7 billion) in loans, empowering millions of Filipinos to achieve their financial aspirations.
“We’ve always held the belief that financial rails for the agri-fisheries sector are best built on top of existing market rails for our smallholder farmers and fisherfolks. This partnership with GCash and Fuse accelerates our agri-fintech aspiration of cultivating grassroots financial inclusion, particularly for a sector that got left behind in terms of access to much-needed credit. By situating any loan transaction within a trade and supply chain context, I think we are able to finally crack the code towards making our farmers and fisherfolks bankable, credit-worthy, and financially empowered,” said JT Solis, Co-founder and CEO of Mayani.