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                Tagbilaran 
                City Mayor John Geesnell “Baba” Yap (right) cuts the ribbon to 
                formally open the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) 
                Micro-finance branch in his city. With him are (left to right) 
                RAFI Micro-finance & Entrepreneurship executive director Ma. 
                Theresa Catipay and RAFI chief operating officer Dominica Chua. 
                The new branch is intended to help provide a stable and 
                rewarding livelihood to mothers in Tagbilaran.  | 
              
            
            
           
          
          RAFI Micro-finance 
          opens five more branches to cater to more nanays
          By Ramon Aboitiz Foundation 
          Inc.
          August 23, 2015
          CEBU CITY – To serve 
          more client nanays, the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) 
          Micro-finance has opened five more branches in Bohol, Cebu, and Leyte, 
          bringing the total number of branches to 23.
          Last June 25, it inaugurated 
          its Tagbilaran City, Bohol branch, which is located at Door 2, Seaview 
          Apartment, CPG East, Bool District; followed by the opening of its 
          Square One Commercial Complex, Tipolo, Mandaue City, Cebu branch on 
          June 29; the Travelers Inn, Valladolid, Carcar City, Cebu branch on 
          July 2; the Proper Damolog, Sogod, Cebu branch on August 4; and the 
          Taft Street, Central 1, Poblacion, Palompon, Leyte branch on August 
          20.
          “True to RAFI’s promise of 
          elevating lives, RAFI Micro-finance has committed to provide 
          responsive and value-based micro-finance services to the communities, 
          especially to poor entrepreneurs,” said Jonar Dorado, head of the RAFI 
          Micro-finance Business Development Unit, on the opening of the 
          Tagbilaran branch. 
          
          “We are currently serving 
          over 46,000 families in the provinces of Cebu, Bohol, and Leyte, and 
          determined to reach out to 120,000 families in the next three years, 
          by expanding our operations through the opening of branches within and 
          beyond the areas we currently cover,” he said.
          RAFI Micro-finance aims to 
          provide capital to nanay business entrepreneurs and to those wanting 
          to establish their own small economic ventures as a way to empower 
          them as co-pillars of their respective families. Aside from loans, it 
          also provides micro-insurance seminars, business trainings, 
          consultancy, medical missions, and other services. 
          
          Hazel Guille, one of those 
          who attended the Carcar branch opening, was ecstatic that RAFI 
          Micro-finance already has a branch near her.
          “Nalipay kaayo ko ug 
          nagpasalamat nga aduna nay branch nga duol diri sa Carcar kay sa una 
          muadto pa ko sa Argao branch," she said.
          RAFI Micro-finance is a 
          program under the Micro-finance & Entrepreneurship focus area of RAFI. 
          It provides financial resources and know-how to women 
          micro-entrepreneurs to nurture financial independence and 
          entrepreneurship. Other focus areas of RAFI are Integrated 
          Development, Culture & Heritage, Leadership & Citizenship, and 
          Education.