Opportunity International Implementing Members

Taytay Sa Kauswagan, Inc. (TSKI)

Taytay Sa Kauswagan, Incorporated (TSKI) or “Bridge to Progress” was established on September 1, 1986. It is registered in the Security and “Exchange Commission (SEC) as a non-stock, non-profit Christian development organization based in Iloilo City. It was established towards the upliftment from poverty of the least privileged brothers and sisters through the development of income generating and job creating small and micro-enterprises. Taytay Sa Kauswagan, Inc. (TSKI) commits to develop micro-enterprises by providing financial assistance as an additional capital to increase productivity and income; create opportunities for employment for the unemployed and the underemployed through the expansion of business enterprises. Thus, TSKI is envisioned as a bridge to such opportunities. TSKI continues to expand its operation and it now registers strong clients of 203,747 (as of December 2006) all over Visayas Area, Southern Tagalog and Western Mindanao. TSKI is the acknowledge largest microfinance institution in the Philippines as of today. Among others, the clients’ economic activities are trading (83%), agriculture (9%), services (6%), handicraft (.8%) manufacturing (.6%) and food production (.6%). Given this proportion it can be said that the existing client’s economic activity are vulnerable to family and economic shocks, hence it requires a long and sustained provision of microfinance services before an ordinary microentrepreneur get out of poverty. Further, to hasten poverty alleviation, microfinance must be fully supported by other development services. In this regard, TSKI designed the provision of Business Development Services to its clients. The clients believe that business development services would enable their simple trading business to progress to a more diversified type of business. The project on Sustainable Microenterprises aims to develop successful and sustainable microenterprises through the provision of a comprehensive, practical and quality business development services to microentrepreneurs. The long-term goal is to evolve micro-entrepreneurs into small and medium-sized entrepreneurs creating a more vibrant local economy.

Performance in 2009