TWO financial institutions will initially allocate some P500 million for the Bangsamoro Fund Facility (BFF) in a bid to attract investors to put up shops in the soon to be establish Bangsamoro, an official from the Bangsamoro Development Agency said.

BDA programs division head Engr. Windel P. Diangcalan, in an interview with Sun.Star Davao at the Private and Cooperative Sectors’ Forum on the Bangsamoro Basic Law and the Bangsamoro Development Plan at Park Inn Hotel earlier this month, said this is the initial funding from World Bank (WB) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) for the BFF, a loan facility that will be established with the aim to attract investors to come to the Bangsamoro by providing them improved access to finance. The loan facility will offer loan arrangements that are conventional and Shariah compliant.

He said the initial funding will serve as a test pilot fot the BFF to see its effectivity.

“If effective ang pilot posible mag scale up sila (If it is effective, they might possibly scale up the funding),” said Diangcalan.

However, Diangcalan said the fund has not yet been downloaded since they are still awaiting for the study of WB and Jica on the effective implementation of the funding through the BFF.

He also said they are still on the process of polishing the guidelines on how the private sector can avail loan from the BFF.

Diangcalan underscored the importance of the private sector in the development of the Bangsamoro saying that they are crucial to its development. He said the public sector’s role is to be serve as the catalyst to the development of the region.

For example, when it comes to job generation, Diangcalan said the private sector is generating 95 percent of the employment while the public is able to generate only around five percent.

(Repost from https://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/business/2014/12/18/wb-jica-assist-bangsamoro-fund-facility-382716)