The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Cebuana Lhuillier recently started its most extensive effort yet to improve the quality and availability of financial services in the country and aid in increasing the number of financially included Filipinos by the end of 2016.
“This year is pivotal for the company, as we beef up our efforts in promoting financial inclusion. In our first quarter alone, we have already embarked on a mission to help Filipinos prepare for disasters. We are also set to introduce new products and hold more highly relevant events in the coming months. Cebuana Lhuillier is determined, more than ever, to empower more individuals and commuities,” Cebuana Lhuillier President and CEO Jean Henri Lhuillier said.
Filling the gaps in understanding full financial inclusion and paving the way to achieve it, the CebuanAsenso Negoserye Financial Literacy Program was launched at the start of the year.
The project involves the company’s own employees and different members of the community, educating both internal and external stakeholders in various parts of the Philippines.
The program seeks to help inform the public about the proper management of finances. This undertaking only solidifies the company’s pursuit of providing not only the best products and services, but also the proper knowledge and mindset to sustain financial stability.
Cebuana Lhuillier also recently mounted a disaster resilience forum that gathered stakeholders from the public and private sectors to discuss the importance of being financially secure in the face of impending calamities. A road show will be held across the Philippines to share the key ideas and information gained from the event.
Beyond advocacy, Cebuana Lhuillier recognized that a successful financial-inclusion campaign all starts with providing better access to the unserved communities.
To break access and availability barriers, the company has been deploying its mobile hubs—Cebuana Lhuillier on Wheels—to all over the country to heighten awareness and provide easier access on quality and affordable financial products and services offered by the brand to communities in far-flung areas.
In further expanding its network of branches, Cebuana Lhuillier has joined PeraLINK— an innovative money-transfer service venture of various financial institutions in the country that allows intermember money-transfer transactions to its pool of clients. This step toward convergence significantly expanded the company’s network, as PeraLINK has more than over 4,000 branches.
Also, Cebuana Lhuillier Group Sales Inc. (CLGSI) was established as the company’s business-to-business sales arm that will offer partnerships and various microfinancial solutions services to other top corporations, as well as to micro, small and medium enterprises.
Further proving its commitment to uplift the lives of Filipinos, Cebuana Lhuillier has introduced more innovations. One of the company’s newest offerings is its line of microloan products, which answers to the need of Filipinos for convenient financing options.
Cebuana Lhuillier has also introduced the Alagang Cebuana Plus Gold, its first microlife insurance product. An iteration of the Alagang Cebuana Plus, the ACP Gold also offers personal accident insurance and fire cash assistance, and an additional amount for micro-life coverage.