Insurance firm Allianz PNB Life has expanded its Ride Safe campaign into a new program equipped with livelihood intervention component in partnership with global non-profit organization SOS Children’s Villages Philippines (SOS Philippines) and bike advocacy group Tambay Cycling Hub (Tambike), an independent bike repair shop in Pasig City.
“With the brilliant revolution in terms of cycling, we wanted to turn this into livelihood opportunities for Filipinos. The ability to make this happen is dependent on our partners, with Tambay Bike Hub extending training to our program participants and SOS Children’s Village providing the platform to reach out to those in need. We are happy that we extended our advocacy out of Metro Manila, with Ride Safe now in the provinces. The success of this program is also dependent on our participants who will work with bikes in their respective communities,” said Allianz PNB Life chief marketing officer Gino Riola.
Ride Safe, which initially promotes biking as an environment-friendly form of transport, is now a program that provides participants with livelihood skills that will help them support their families.
Through this entrepreneurship and bike-skills program, Allianz Ride Safe selected 9 SOS Children’s Village Family Strengthening program participants from Iloilo, Cebu, and Tacloban.
The participants underwent one week of training on bike maintenance and repair from instructors at Tambay Cycling Hub. The participants were also equipped with entrepreneurship and financial literacy mentoring to help them start their own small businesses. During training, the participants drafted a business plan and received a grant of P150,000 to set up a bike shop.
“With more Filipinos taking to the road on their bikes, there is a need for more skilled bike mechanics and bike stores. This program will help to grow the bike community and make the world a better, safer, more environment-friendly place,” said Tambay Cycling Hub president Kevin Skinker.
Allianz Ride Safe is an initiative under the Allianz PNB Life Kaagapay program that aims to teach financial literacy and aid families through microinsurance. In 2021, the Ride Safe campaign won the CSR Initiative of the Year at the Insurance Asia Awards.