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| The Rizal Provincial Cooperative Development Council learns new knowledge on finance from the discussions with Sun Life (Image Source: Smart Communications Inc.) |
PLDT‘s wireless unit Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) has renewed its collaboration with insurance and investment company Sun Life Philippines to further promote financial literacy among their partner cooperatives. “When this initiative began in 2022, we already knew the importance of cooperatives to our economy. Unfortunately, they were also among the most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our partnership with Sun Life was vital to be able to support them further and help provide other relevant solutions to them,” said Smart First Vice President (FVP) and Go-To Market and Subscriber Management Group Head Melvin Nubla.
In 2022, several sessions of successful financial literacy training were conducted nationwide under this collaboration between Smart’s Communities Marketing Team and Sun Life. This initiative enabled almost 500 cooperative members to learn about the fundamentals of finance and its relevance to their industry. “Sun Life has always been a staunch advocate of financial literacy as we believe it plays a key role in achieving a brighter life. We are always looking for ways to elevate our efforts and help empower even more Filipinos to pursue their financial goals. I believe the renewal of our tie-up with Smart can help us do that,” Sun Life of Canada (Philippines), Inc. President Alex Narciso said.
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| Cebu-based Cambinocot Multi-Purpose Cooperative joins the learning session on financial literacy (Image Source: Smart Communications Inc.) |
As a result of this productive partnership last year, Smart and Sun Life will continue to roll out financial literacy training this 2023, targeting Benguet, Bulacan, Cavite, Metro Manila, Cebu, Iloilo, and Davao. Since 2020, Smart has been empowering cooperatives across the nation as part of the Smart Coops program and their core advocacy is to help boost livelihood among their stakeholders through technology. Through this partnership with Sun Life, Smart aims to reach more cooperatives all over the country through this initiative. “To be financially literate is to know how to manage your money. This means learning how to pay your bills, how to borrow and save money responsibly, and how and why to invest and for retirement. Thank you Smart and Sun Life for giving Cordova MPC the opportunity to undergo this training,” shared Mr. Neomelito Nunez, General Manager of Cebu-based Cordova Multipurpose Cooperative. Through this program, the PLDT Group remains fully committed to working with like-minded organizations to help cooperatives thrive. This is also aligned with the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals (UNSDGs) #2 Zero Hunger and #8 Decent Work and Economic Growth.
