GCash, the Philippines’ leading mobile wallet,
together with the non-profit organization HOPE, and Century Pacific Food, one
of the country’s largest branded food companies, will be working together to
fund the planting of 1 million coconut trees in the provinces of South Cotabato
and Sarangani. This will be done via GForest, the environmental protection feature on the GCash app. This marks the
first time that a GForest tree-planting initiative will be implemented in
Mindanao, extending the app's reach nationwide, and helping thousands of
farmers in the province.
HOPE has been working to provide agriculture
interventions such as replanting, farmer training, intercropping, and
increasing market access to smallholder farmers in Mindanao since 2014. To
date, they have distributed over 100,000 quality seedlings to over 10,000
smallholder farmers in the region.
With this tree-planting partnership, the farmers
are expected to increase their nut yield by 55% and their income from coconuts
by 90%. It will also have a positive effect on female farmers, who comprise 40%
of the farmers in the program. The project will cover the areas of Sarangani,
Banga, Surallah, Norala, Koronadal, General Santos City, Malungon, Glan,
Alabel, Maasim, Kiamba, Maitum, Polomolok, Tampakan, and Tupi.
“We are excited to partner with HOPE and Century
Pacific as we work together to promote environmental sustainability, and
support farmers in South Cotabato and Sarangani. Through this program that will
be implemented via GForest, we now have planting sites in Luzon, Visayas, and
Mindanao. We are committed to promote environmental stewardship through
GForest, as we seamlessly integrate this with GCash’s innovative cashless
technology,” said GCash President and CEO Martha Sazon.
GForest allows customers to take an active role in helping mother nature through tree planting.
GCash users can do this by collecting enough green energy to plant
virtual trees. When users plant a virtual tree, GCash then plants a real
tree, which users may select on the app. GForest users earn green energy
points by using various cashless services of GCash. Through sending money,
paying bills or buying load in the app, users are awarded green energy points
for adopting a lifestyle that reduces their carbon footprint.
“We are grateful for this partnership with GCash
and Century Pacific as it expands our reach and intensifies our efforts toward
sustainability and environmental protection. Through this
initiative, we are able to reach out to millions of GCash users,
encouraging them to preserve the environment while helping to support
smallholder farmers,” said Nanette Medved, HOPE chairperson and
president.
Since 2019, 7.7 million registered users have “gone green” using the
GForest feature on the GCash app. To date, more than 560,000 trees have been
planted in various parts of the Philippines.
"This partnership with HOPE is a big boost to our GForest program
as it will bring us closer to our sustainability goal of having a
"greener Philippines" simply by promoting cashless transactions,”
said Chito Maniago, GCash’s Vice President of Corporate Communications and
Public Affairs.
Since 2018, GCash has been actively involved in promoting a greener
Philippines. It partnered with the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) for the reforestation initiatives in the Visayas. GCash users
with energy points can adopt different species of trees to save them. RAFI,
through its One to Tree Program Unit which encourages communities to help
protect and rehabilitate the environment, is involved in establishing native
tree nurseries and tree plantations in Cebu.
For more information, visit https://www.gcash.com/gforest.
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About GCash
GCash is the leading mobile wallet in the
Philippines. Through the GCash app, customers can easily buy load; pay bills at
over 600 partner billers in the app; pay at more than 7,000 online partners;
send and receive money anywhere in the Philippines; pay using QR codes at over
130,000 partner merchants nationwide; save money while earning interest; and
invest money at local and global funds -- all through the convenience of their
smartphones.
GCash is part of the portfolio companies of
917Ventures, the largest corporate incubator in the Philippines wholly-owned by
Globe Telecom, Inc. GCash was recognized by The Asian Banker (TAB) in 2021 for
its outstanding digital financial inclusion programs impacting more than 40
million Filipinos in the country today.
For more information, please contact:
Chito S. Maniago
Vice President, Corporate Communications and Public
Affairs
GCash
Email Address: corpcomm@mynt.xyz
Twitter: @gcashofficial │ Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/gcashofficial
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