The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), through its financing arm Small Business Corporation (SBCorp), has opened a ₱2-billion loan program meant to help small transport operators and drivers swap their gas-guzzlers for electric vehicles (EVs). The Small Business Corp. began offering loans of up to ₱1.5 million per vehicle starting April 21, 2026 under the E-Transport Loan initiative, and borrowers can access as much as ₱3 million total, enough for up to two EV purchases.
If you’re a taxi driver, a TNVS partner for Grab or JoyRide, or you run a small fleet of tricycles or vans, this program was built with you in mind. DTI and SBCorp designed the loan for transportation network vehicle service (TNVS) drivers, fleet operators, and other small transport operators looking to shift to electric vehicles amid the ongoing oil crisis.
DTI-SBCorp has clarified that the loan is issued to the individual driver, not to the ride-hailing company they’re affiliated with. Grab, JoyRide, and inDrive drivers can qualify, but the app companies themselves cannot be borrowers; the person actually driving the unit carries the loan.
Who can apply
Based on DTI and SBCorp’s official eligibility criteria, applicants must meet the following:
- Hold a valid and current LTFRB authority covering the vehicle to be financed – a Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC), Provisional Authority (PA), or equivalent permit.
- Be duly registered as a sole proprietor, partnership, or corporation with DTI or SEC, and hold a valid local business permit where applicable.
- If affiliated with a transport network company (TNC) such as Grab Philippines, JoyRide Philippines, or inDrive, the loan must go to the individual operator or registered fleet entity, never to the TNC itself.
- Submit a certification or statement of account from the TNC confirming active driver status and historical trip volume.
- Be the direct borrower and obligor of the loan. Fleet operators and driver-operators carry the obligation, not the transport network companies they work with.
What the loan covers
These are the program’s terms, per DTI and SBCorp:
- Loanable amount: Up to ₱1.5 million per vehicle, with a maximum of ₱3 million per borrower
- Loan term: Payable over up to five years
- Grace period: Borrowers can choose 0, 3, 6, 9, or 12 months before payments begin
- Interest rate: 1% per month on a diminishing balance
- Processing fee: 3%
Loans are payable up to five years, with grace period options from six to 12 months, including one-year no payment of principal amount and interest. The interest rate works out to an effective annual rate of 6.7% once the monthly 1% diminishing-balance computation is factored in – a detail SBCorp clarified after the initial rollout, since a flat “1% a month” figure on its own tends to undersell the real annual cost (or overstate it) depending on how a borrower does the math.
How to apply
Applications opened on April 21, 2026 through the SBCorp Money app. DTI is also directing interested borrowers to the SBCorp website at sbcorp.gov.ph or to coordinate directly with DTI provincial offices and Negosyo Centers, which gives applicants outside Metro Manila a walk-in option if they’d rather not do the whole process on a phone.
The application process can be started through the SBCorp Money app’s E-Transport Loan Facility, where applicants submit their LTFRB documents, business registration, and, if TNC-affiliated, their certification of active status before the loan moves to processing.
Why now
The program was launched as EV adoption accelerates in the transport sector partly because of an ongoing state of national energy emergency, and at a time when EV adoption in the Philippines is picking up due to climbing fuel prices. DTI’s stated aim, according to its own program description, is to make the cost of switching to an EV “predictable, manageable, and significantly lower” for the small operators who feel fuel price swings the hardest.
Borrowers who want to check their eligibility or begin an application can download the SBCorp Money app on Android, visit sbcorp.gov.ph, or drop by the nearest DTI office or Negosyo Center for assistance.
