UPLiFT stands for Urban Program for Livelihood Finance and Training. We are a Non-Government Organization (NGO) based in the Philippines specializing in microfinance and social services for the urban poor. Created in 1993 by Inter Aide of France, we are registered with the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission as a non-profit, non-political, and non-sectarian organization. UPLIFT is a member of the Filipino Association of Foundations.
Based in Manila, Philippines, we reach out to several areas in Metro Manila and in the provinces of Bataan, Bulacan, Cavite, Camarines Sur, Laguna, La Union, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Rizal, Tarlac, and Zambales. Every year, we help more than 50,000 urban poor Filipino families through financial and social assistance, giving them the chance to overcome poverty and become self-reliant.
Thank you for visiting our website. Feel free to browse our resources and learn more about us, our work, and our people.
What We Are Offering
Loans
Provision of microloans amounting from PhP 1,000 to 300,000 for the entrepreneurial poor intended for business use including but not exclusive to start-up additional rolling capital, acquisition of assets and equipment, business expansion or business diversification.
Trainings & Seminars
These training & seminars aim to equip the participants with the necessary skills, knowledge, attitude and capability in developing a certain product or service. These will also teach them a variety of topics that can eventually be an income-generating activity. Linkages with different agencies to access training, technologies and other resources that will benefit our partners to improve their personal orientation as well as their business perspective.
Adopt-A-Community
UPLiFT identifies communities in need of assistance and conducts studies on how it could help address such needs. At present, UPLiFT has already implemented various community projects such as water systems, urban gardening, materials recovery facility and tree planting activities.
Scholarship
Children of loyal UPLiFT Partners and with good scholastic standing are eligible for this scholarship. Qualified applicants will receive financial assistance every semester.
Quick Statistics as of September 30, 2025
Total Loan Portfolio
Office Branches
Members
Active Projects
Our Story
In 1993, UPLiFT began as a project of InterAide, an international French NGO specializing in the implementation of developmental programs. Paul Hibon, a French InterAide staff, developed the UPLiFT micro credit project in 1993, during the time when the Grameen Bank approach to microfinance was gaining global popularity. A friend from the United Nations Development Program directed him to focus his attention in Navotas, a fish port municipality where the population density is high.
Due to the limitations of group approach with group liability, Mr. Hibon proposed that individual loans was the best approach. InterAide agreed with Mr. Hibon and decided on an approach that offered individual loans and savings combined with self-awareness and business seminars..
Awards and Recognitions
UPLiFT has been continuously receiving awards and recognitions, from various private and governmental institutions, for its contributions in uplifting the lives of the entrepreneurial poor in the country.
Our News And Insights
18 UPLiFT Scholars Join Graduates of 2024
Eighteen UPLiFT Scholars graduated this year 2024, one of them graduated as Summa Cum Laude, three graduated as Magna Cum Laude and eight as Cum Laudes! These are all children of deserving Partners from different provinces covered by UPLiFT Program areas, with eleven...