The Philippines

BRS and the Filipino cooperative CLIMBS recently celebrated the first anniversary of their cooperation. That cooperation developed through telephone calls and online consultations, a short visit by the CLIMBS staff to Belgium in the spring, then even more online support, finally leading to a first on-site visit in the Philippines by the BRS volunteers. Kenneth Chua, Data Warehouse Manager of CLIMBS, and BRS volunteer Bernd Stienaers, head of the Data Insights Team at KBC, talk about their meeting in Cagayan de Oro City in June 2024. 

A new BRS colleague and a brand-new BRS volunteer. Natalie Vanden Eynde and Ronny Delchambre are both driven people, each with tons of experience in their respective areas. The trip to the Philippines that brought them together was new for both of them: their first mission on behalf of BRS. 

KBC employee Patrick Van Loij likes to look beyond the border. After the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Ireland, with a brief return to Belgium in between, he now lives and works in Bulgaria. And even after 25 years of living as an expat, other horizons still appeal to him. BRS’ request to share his product development expertise with MFIs (microfinancing institutions) in the Philippines was therefore received with enthusiasm. 

CLIMBS is a cooperative of more than 4,000 (mainly savings and credit) cooperatives, which offers a whole range of insurance products. 

Thanks to the savings and credit cooperative K-Coop, a great many people who are not considered creditworthy by the commercial banks have access to microcredits

The GSAC multipurpose cooperative offers its members in the Bicol region many services. More than 50,000 members benefit from affordable financial products, making GSAC the region’s largest savings and credit cooperative.