Four Indigenous-led enterprises in Mindanao will receive PHP 4.4 million in New Zealand-funded seed grants

With funding support from the New Zealand Government, four Indigenous-led enterprises in Mindanao will receive PHP 4.4 million in seed grants under the I-LEAD Project, UNDP Philippines said. New Zealand Ambassador Dr. Catherine McIntosh helped hand over commitment certificates at the first Mindanao Indigenous Peoples Trade Expo in Davao City.

With funding support from the New Zealand Government, four Indigenous-led enterprises in Mindanao will receive PHP 4.4 million in seed grants under the Indigenous Women and Girls – Leadership and Empowerment in Ancestral Domains (I-LEAD) Project, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the Philippines said. The grants were announced on 26 October in celebration of National Indigenous Peoples Month.

New Zealand Ambassador to the Philippines Dr. Catherine McIntosh, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) Secretary Nancy Catamco and UNDP Resident Representative Christophe Bahuet led the handover of commitment certificates on the first day of the inaugural Mindanao Indigenous Peoples Trade Expo (MIPTEX) at Poblacion Market Central in Davao City.

The four recipients

According to UNDP, the grants will go to four community enterprises representing four ancestral domains:

• Ata Women Association of Paquibato District, Davao City
• Datu Danwata Women Association of Malita, Davao Occidental
• Manobo Farmers' Association of Magpet, Cotabato
• Maitum-Kiamba CADT 154 Service Care Association of Sarangani

Collectively, these organisations represent the Ata, Tagakaulo and Blaan, Obo Monuvu, and Tboli and Manobo Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples in their areas. They produce goods using local materials from their ancestral domains, including woven bags and baskets, beadwork accessories, abaca crafts and various food products.

UNDP said the seed grants aim to help the enterprises strengthen their businesses, improve production and develop their products to support long-term growth. Representatives of the recipient communities also took part as exhibitors at MIPTEX, and I-LEAD supported the participation of 12 Indigenous exhibitors at the week-long expo, which was co-organised by the Mindanao Development Authority, the New Zealand Embassy in Manila and NCIP.

"Indigenous Peoples' economy has a strong potential in Mindanao. With support from New Zealand, and working with NCIP through the I-LEAD Project, UNDP empowers and capacitates IP women to gain business skills and access new markets. The grants we are launching today will put capital behind their skills and business idea," Bahuet said at the MIPTEX opening program.

About I-LEAD

I-LEAD is funded by the New Zealand Government and implemented by UNDP in partnership with NCIP. A July report said the $4.5 million project, launched in May, covers four ancestral domains and aims to enhance the leadership capacities of 1,600 Indigenous women and girls by addressing barriers to governance and economic participation. The project is scheduled to conclude in 2030.

The University of Southern Mindanao said in May that it had joined the Region XII inter-agency technical working group for the project, whose launch was attended by New Zealand Second Secretary to the Philippines David Pennycook and New Zealand Senior Policy Officer Anita Edgecomb.

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