About First Circle

Our Story

Learn about First Circle, how it started and what it stands for.
First Circle's mission is to provide fast, fair and flexible business loans to SMEs

Our Mission

To economically empower millions of people through the growth of small and medium enterprises in the Philippines and the rest of South East Asia.

Small and medium enterprises are the fuel of society. They account for 41% of the GDP of South East Asian countries, they sustain the livelihoods of countless people, and provide goods and services that enhance the way we live. But behind all the good they do, there exists a constant battle against a system that doesn’t sustain them. Access is severely limited to products like credit, business accounts and payments processing, that are vital to the growth of their businesses.

First Circle is here to change that, to create a pivotal impact in the Philippine fintech revolution by making accessible financial products a reality for SMEs across the nation.

Our Product and Strategy

We are building a full-stack SME financial services platform that includes credit, multi-currency bank accounts, payments, FX, corporate cards, and payroll.
First Circle is an SEC-registered fintech company in the Philippines, founded in 2016 to help empower Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in growth markets by financing their business-to-business (B2B) trade transactions. Now an official financing partner of DTI and the Quezon City Local Government Unit, First Circle is consistently recognized as one of the best loan providers in the Philippines. We made it to the Inquirer Growth Champions 2023 List and the Financial Times Asia-Pacific High Growth Companies 2023 List.

We’ve started this journey through the development of our flagship product, the Revolving Credit Line, which is a readily accessible source of funds that our customers can use at any point in time. We’ve seen our customers utilize this for revenue generating projects and to mitigate cash flow gaps that naturally accompany their day-to-day operations. To date, this has already transformed access to financing for over 3000 SMEs in the Philippines, powering the growth of our customers’ businesses by an average of 80% after 2 years.

Looking forward, our focus is now on solving problems outside of credit, and we are deep in development of a range of products to add to our offering.

Our Product and Strategy

We are building a full-stack SME financial services platform that includes credit, multi-currency bank accounts, payments, FX, corporate cards, and payroll.
First Circle is an SEC-registered fintech company in the Philippines, founded in 2016 to help empower Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in growth markets by financing their business-to-business (B2B) trade transactions. Now an official financing partner of DTI and the Quezon City Local Government Unit, First Circle is consistently recognized as one of the best loan providers in the Philippines. We made it to the Inquirer Growth Champions 2023 List and the Financial Times Asia-Pacific High Growth Companies 2023 List.

We’ve started this journey through the development of our flagship product, the Revolving Credit Line, which is a readily accessible source of funds that our customers can use at any point in time. We’ve seen our customers utilize this for revenue generating projects and to mitigate cash flow gaps that naturally accompany their day-to-day operations. To date, this has already transformed access to financing for over 3000 SMEs in the Philippines, powering the growth of our customers’ businesses by an average of 80% after 2 years.

Looking forward, our focus is now on solving problems outside of credit, and we are deep in development of a range of products to add to our offering.
First Circle supports business growth through their Revolving Credit Line

Our Customers

We’re not here to sell. We’re here to grow SMEs. We offer perspective on how our products can help business owners do extraordinary things.
We’re not fans of overly complicated conversations nor do we believe in flashy online campaigns because we understand that that’s not where our customers are.

We visit our customers and talk about the promise of our product then they decide if this is what they need.  We are confident that our products are the best available for SMEs, and we trust our customers to make the right decision for their business.

Don’t believe us? Check what our customers are saying:
First Circle can be relied on as a source of short term and long term financing

Our Customers

We’re not here to sell. We’re here to grow SMEs. We offer perspective on how our products can help business owners do extraordinary things.
We’re not fans of overly complicated conversations nor do we believe in flashy online campaigns because we understand that that’s not where our customers are.

We visit our customers and talk about the promise of our product then they decide if this is what they need.  We are confident that our products are the best available for SMEs, and we trust our customers to make the right decision for their business.

Don’t believe us? Check what our customers are saying:

Our Partners

Creating symbiotic relationships with fellow advocates of SME growth.

Our partners share the fervor for our mission and recognize that what we’re doing doesn’t only change the life of a single business owner but can drastically cascade its effects to millions of people. We strive to cultivate these unique bonds so that one day, every business knows that
First Circle is here to help.

Supported by local and international advisors

RJ Ledesma for First Circle
“First Circle is a startup that helps SMEs better understand the risks of lending and will also want to be with them in helping them grow their business.”
RJ Ledesma
Co-Founder, Mercato Centrale
Teresita Herbosa for First Circle
“SMEs should only borrow from registered lenders, like First Circle. They ensure welfare of borrowers by being compliant to the Truth in Lending Act.”
Teresita Herbosa
Former Chairperson Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC)
Phillip Riese for First Circle
“I have seen many business models and First Circle has adopted an award winning approach to attract a large customer base with potential across Southeast Asia.”
Phillip Riese
Former Chairman, Zopa
Sergio Ortiz for First Circle
“First Circle is new and worth looking at because it can address the issue of small businesses who cannot get finance from banks.”
Sergio Luis Ortiz
President, Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (PhilExport)
Farouk Meralli for First Circle
“First Circle has one of the strongest and hardest working teams in Southeast Asia, addressing a very large market across the region.”
Farouk Meralli
CEO, mClinica
"First Circle is worth looking at because it can address the issue of small businesses who cannot get finance from banks.”
Sergio Luis Ortiz
President, Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (PhilExport)