CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines: From 27 to 29 June 2024, BRS - Belgian Raiffeisen Foundation spent three days in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines as part of its technical assistance to CLIMBS Life and General Insurance Cooperative Official. This collaborative exchange was conducted as part of their three-year cooperative agreement initiated by the ICMIF Foundation in establishing a pilot data warehouse system.

Key resource persons joining the exchange from BRS (Belgium) include Lieven Keppens (BRS Advisor and Board Member), Natalie Vanden Eynde (Program Coordinator) and Bernd Stienaers (Head of Data Insights of Insurance at KBC Bank & Insurance). The lead representative from CLIMBS (Philippines) was CEO and President, Mr Noel Raboy.

Throughout the visit, BRS and CLIMBS conducted a comprehensive evaluation of CLIMBS data management, and identified collaborative action points toward the next phase of implementation.

Ultimately, the objective of the technical assistance is to enable digital transformation of CLIMBS by leveraging BRS volunteers’ expertise in data quality management and data-driven decision-making.

Vanden Eynde expressed her pleasure with the progress of CLIMBS in building their data warehouse “The CLIMBS team and management that we worked with were very motivated, and they progressed very quickly.” She said, “Overall, the main role of BRS has been to give advice and to coach, but the exciting implementation is being done by our energized colleagues at CLIMBS.”

BRS also had the opportunity to visit the Bukidnon Government Employees Multi-Purpose Cooperative (BUGEMCO), and Gubat St. Anthony Cooperative (GSAC), which is also a partner of BRS. This trip provided valuable insight to BRS in regard to the community impact of CLIMBS members and cooperative leadership in the Philippines.

Reflecting on the collaboration, Mr Raboy stated, “Our partnership with BRS is significantly enhancing our data management and decision-making capabilities. It benefits our entire CLIMBS workforce and underscores our commitment to innovation and international cooperation within the cooperative sector.”

Photo credit: CLIMBS Life and General Insurance Cooperative Official