Jaime Aristotle B. Alip
Dr. Jaime Aristotle B. Alip is the Founder and Managing Director of the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development Mutually Reinforcing Institutions (CARD MRI), the 2008 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Public Service. Started in 1986, CARD MRI is a group of mutually reinforcing institutions composed of the CARD NGO, CARD Bank, CARD Mutual Benefit Association, CARD MRI Development Institute, CARD Business Development Service Foundation Inc., CARD MRI Insurance Agency, Rural Bank of Sto. Tomas, Inc. (now the CARD- SME Bank) and the CARD MRI Information Technology Inc. As of February 2011, CARD MRI has a total outreach of more than 1.3 million poor women clients with a total outstanding loan of more than P5.1 Billion. Total asset of CARD MRI is more than P9.7 Billion with a total staff complement of 6,079. Under CARD MBA microinsurance activities, CARD has insured more than 6.4 million individuals. Under Dr. Alip’s leadership CARD MRI was also awarded the Prize for Excellence in Community Economic Development by the Southern New Hampshire University in 2007; People Power People Recognition Award by Former President Corazon C. Aquino in 2005; the Global Excellence for Microfinance by the Grameen Foundation, USA in 2003; and the Flame of Excellence Award given by USAID and The Microfinance Coalition for Standards of the Philippines in 2000.
Dr. Alip received the Medal of Honor from the Vietnam Women’s Union in 1995 for his work in microcredit for poor women in Vietnam. He was also given the Secretary’s Award of the Department of Agrarian Reform, Philippine Government in 1998 for his contribution in agrarian reform program. Ernst and Young recognized him as the Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2006; received the Ten Outstanding San Pableños Award from the local government and the People of San Pablo City, Laguna in July 2008; and the most Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of the Philippines in 2007. He is also the 2007 Most Outstanding Alumnus of UPLB, the University of the Philippine’s agriculture campus.
Dr. Alip has been elected as a member of the International Board of Directors of Oikocredit and sits as an adviser in Grameen Foundation, USA. He was the President and Chairman Emeritus of RIMANSI, a regional based association that promotes microinsurance among MFI players in Asia region. He has been recently appointed as the Senior Advisor on Microfinance of the Population and Community Development Association in Thailand.
Dr. Alip is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School having completed the 3-year Owner/President Management (OPM) Program in 2007 and was given the Excellence Award on Strategy by his peers. He obtained his doctorate degree in Organizational Development from the Southeast Asia Interdisciplinary Development Institute (SAIDI), Manila, Philippines in 2002. He received his bachelor and master’s degrees in agricultural economics/marketing from the University of the Philippines at Los Baños in 1978 and 1983, respectively. He also attended the Executive Program in Global Management at the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, U. S. A. in 1999. He graduated from high school at the Ateneo de San Pablo in 1973 and in December 2008, he received the Most Outstanding Alumnus of Ateneo de San Pablo given by the Ateneo de San Pablo Alumni Association.
Dr. Alip has served in various key positions in the Philippine Government: Undersecretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (2002-2003); Assistant Secretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform (1996-1998); and Deputy Executive Director of the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (1988-1992). He has extensive international experience in the field of microfinance and rural development in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, China, Myanmar, Bhutan, East Timor and Indonesia serving in various capacities as advisor, expert and/or consultant.
