by admin | Sep 18, 2017 | National News, Negosyo Center Updates, Photo Story
True to its thrust to propel micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) towards innovative and competitive business environment, the Department of Trade and Industry Region 1, in partnership with Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship (PCE), on September 15, launched the Kapatid Mentor Me Program (KMME) – Ilocos Norte Leg in Ilocos Norte.
the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship – Go Negosyo. The KMME Program is part of the DTI – PCE partnership Negosyo – Kapatid Project to help MSMEs scale up their businesses and become globally competitive enterprises through coaching and mentoring sessions.
The KMME Program is part of the Negosyo- Kapatid Project that will guide micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) scale up their businesses through 10 weeks of 1-on-1 consultations and coaching sessions with business experts and help MSMEs scale up and become globally competitive enterprises through coaching and mentoring sessions.
In his message, DTI-Ilocos Regional Director Florante Leal emphasized the role played by MSMEs in fueling the economic growth of the country while also highlighting the importance of mentoring towards the attainment of economic progress driven by empowered MSMEs.
Leal said the KMME program is a “big brother-small brother” concept, which is a perfect tool to motivate the entrepreneurial spirit of the Ilocanos and Pangasinenses.”
PCE accredited mentors shared their expertise on Entrepreneurial Mind Setting, Business Values Formation and Marketing to some 250 MSMEs from the Region.
The KMME program is in line with the Duterte Administration’s agenda of advancing MSMEs in the country.
The program will allow mentees to learn strategies on marketing, financial, human resource and operation management among others during the 10-week module-based sessions. On the 11th week, mentees are also required to present their business development plans before their graduation from the program.
Upon completion of the program, the MSEs are expected to become confident entrepreneurs with the right mindset and business-knowhow that will be able to sustain and scale up their enterprises.
For Ilocos Norte, 22 mentees were chosen for the program. Qualified mentees are business owners or managers of an enterprise with an asset of three million and below and operational for at least a year.
Ilocos Norte is the fourth and last province in the region to roll-out the Kapatid Mentor Me Program. La Union, Pangasinan have previously launched the KMME program and has already produced entrepreneur 50 graduates while 23 entrepreneurs in Ilocos Sur are expected to finish the program.
DTI rolls out Kapatid Mentor Me Program in Ilocos Norte. True to its thrust to propel micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) towards innovative and competitive business environment, the Department of Trade and Industry Region 1 in partnership with Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship (PCE) last September 15, launched the Kapatid Mentor Me Program (KMME) in Ilocos Norte, to guide micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) scale up their businesses through 10 weeks of 1-on-1 consultations with business experts from the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship – Go Negosyo. The KMME Program is part of the DTI – PCE partnership Negosyo- Kapatid Project to help MSMEs scale up their businesses and become globally competitive enterprises through coaching and mentoring sessions. DTI Ilocos Region Regional Director Florante Leal said the KMME program is a “big brother-small brother” concept, which is a perfect tool to motivate the entrepreneurial spirit of the Ilocanos and Pangasinenses.”
by admin | Sep 18, 2017 | Business, DTI Updates, Headlines
More investments, jobs ahead
NEW YORK—The Philippines continues to strengthen business collaboration with investors and multinational corporations based in the United States.
Speaking to 85 business executives in the Philippine Investment Forum on 31 August, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez highlighted the sound macroeconomic fundamentals of the country, aiming a 7% to 8% increase in GDP annually and reduce poverty from 21.6% in 2015 to 14% by 2022.
The trade chief also shared the government’s focus on infrastructure development with USD 160 billion worth of projects to directly address investors’ concerns on power supply, affordable telecommunications, and efficient transport of goods and services.
At the sidelines of the Forum, Sec. Lopez with DTI Undersecretary and Chief of Staff Atty. Rowel Barba met with different associations and business executives to seek opportunities for the manufacturing industries and to continue the government’s engagement with US business stakeholders.
The trade chief had a roundtable meeting with the members American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) to discuss potential relocation and expansion of their manufacturing facilities in the Philippines. He also encouraged member companies, which include Tellas Limited (formerly Luenthai USA), Under Armour Inc., Michael Kors (USA) Inc., Ralph Lauren Corporation, Coach Inc., and the Ascena Retail Group Inc., (makers of Ann Taylor, Loft, Lane Bryant, Dressbarn, and Catherines) to take advantage of the extended duty-free treatment to imports of travel goods (including luggage, handbags, backpacks, tote bags) under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Program.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in New York noted that AAFA members and the brands they carry have increased their presence in the Philippines due to huge domestic market, rapid economic growth and expanding middle class.
Sec. Lopez also met with the officials of a research-centric organization, the US-Philippines Society, for a collaborative project to streamline the country’s revenue-generating operations, to respond to internal and external security concerns, and to mitigate the impact of global warming on vulnerable sectors.
Shearwater CFO and COO Tom Kendrot joined the series of meetings with Sec. Lopez to confirm Shearwater’s expansion through its third operation center in the Philippines, opening in 2018 in Iloilo City.
Shearwater is a US clinical solutions provider, which has clinical process outsourcing operations in Taguig City and Cebu City. Such expansion is expected to bring in USD 7 million worth of investments and increase the company’s labor footprint in the country to 3,000.
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez (5th from R) met with senior representatives of leading member companies of the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) in New York City on 31 August 2017 to discuss potential expansion of manufacturing facilities in the Philippines. The trade chief was joined by DTI Undersecretary Rowel Barba (4th from L), Philippine Consul General Maria Theresa Dizon-de Vega (6th from R) and Philippine Special Trade Representative to New York Nicanor Bautista (5th from L).
by admin | Sep 16, 2017 | Tech Talk
Startup Weekend is an environment that aims to provide all the necessities the participant needs so that he or she can focus purely on developing his or her idea. Registering to Startup Weekend Tourism Edition entitles a participant to three days of meals, an event shirt, a goodie bag, and the event experience; and the registration fee is just seven hundred fifty pesos (PHP750.00) per participant! Ain’t that a good deal? We also understand that there are students that would like to participate so we’ve set up a student discount of just five hundred pesos (PHP500.00), just please bring your student IDs when you make your purchase.
The reason why the organizers have pulled in so much resources to pull this off at an affordable rate is so that local entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs that would like to join the event and try their hand at testing their new business idea can rest assured that everything will be provided for them as they prioritize developing their business idea.
The event is in partnership with the Department of Tourism, Provincial Government of Bohol, and the Bohol Investment Promotion Center. It is sponsored by Uniform Solutions, PrintBit, Gwion, Sea Drake Island Cruises, and Just Sizzlin’ (we are still open for sponsorships!) . The participants at the event will also be mentored by Michael de Vincent Edwards, Aimee Lim, Nelson Buena, Ben Skelton, and Peter Watkins. With them are judges Mark Phillips, Vicky Wallace, and many more startup ecosystem supporters.
by admin | Sep 15, 2017 | DTI Updates, National News
The Department of Trade and Industry, in partnership with the Canadian Executive Service Organization (CESO), recently launched the Building Enterprises through Advisory and Mentoring Services (BEAMS) Project in General Trias, Cavite to help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by enlisting assistance from volunteer mentors.
The BEAMS project is an offshoot of CESO’s conduct of training and workshop in CALABARZON region and is anchored on the Bayanihan spirit by establishing a pool of home-grown mentors and coaches in each province of the region.
DTI CALABARZON Regional Director Marilou Q. Toledo said the BEAMS program will help MSMEs in the aspects of production management, productivity improvement, financial planning and management, product development through mentoring from DTI and CESO experts.
“BEAMS mentors will provide business diagnostics and assessment of business operations of our Shared Service Facilities (SSF) cooperators and MSMEs and counsel them on production management, productivity improvement, financial planning and management, product development, among others, which will suit the needs of each SSF and MSME,” Toledo said.
Cavite is the second province in CALABARZON to kick off BEAMS this year after Quezon.
The Shared Service Facilities (SSF) Program is an equipment sharing program aiming to assist micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through sophisticated machinery, equipment, tools, systems, skills and knowledge under a shared system.
The SSF Program provides MSMEs access to better technology and more sophisticated equipment that could boost productivity and improve efficiency, as well as address the gaps and bottle necks in the global value chain being faced by MSMEs, which comprise 99.6% of locally registered businesses, generating over one million jobs a year.
The equipment-sharing program also increases capabilities of both manufacturing and agriculture-based MSMEs to enable them to develop capacity and a culture of quality.
Universities and colleges including the National College of Science and Technology-Dasmarinas, De La Salle University- Dasmarinas, and Imus Institute of Science and Technology and partner agencies such as the Department of Science and Technology, Provincial Cooperative, Livelihood, and Entrepreneurial Development Office-Cavite, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Cavite, and Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants vowed to throw its full support and commitment to the program to help MSMEs.
CESO is Canada’s economic development organization that draws on senior executives and technical experts to build the capacity in governance and economic development through the transfer of knowledge and skills by Volunteer Advisors around the world and in Canada. It is funded by the Canadian Government- Global Affairs Canada.
by admin | Sep 15, 2017 | ASEAN agenda, Business
The Philippines launched the APEC MSME Marketplace, an online platform to promote trade and internationalization of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), during the 24th APEC SME Ministerial Meeting held in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam on 15 September 2017.
“The APEC MSME Marketplace aims to enable MSMEs to participate in meaningful global trade, and in the process harness their ingenuity, boost their competitiveness, and achieve prosperity and inclusive growth in the Asia-Pacific,” said Philippines Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon M. Lopez.
The online platform which is a cross-border business-to-business (B2B) platform is part of the Philippine commitment to implement the Iloilo Initiative: Growing Global MSMEs for Inclusive Development, which was earlier adopted by the APEC SME Ministers in 2015. It seeks to provide bigger voice and better opportunities for APEC MSMEs.
Accessible via www.apecmsmemarketplace.com, the APEC MSME Marketplace which will showcase products and sellers, and trade facilitation services, is the result of the collective efforts of the 21 APEC member economies to contribute to the shared vision of mainstreaming the MSMEs into the global economy.
Lopez added that growth can only be meaningful if it is inclusive and sustainable and this is a priority objective under the Duterte administration.
“This is also the enduring vision of the APEC MSME Marketplace, its reason for existence,” he said.
The portal aims to: (1) facilitate business networking and matching involving MSMEs and large enterprises; (2) enhance MSMEs awareness on trade regulations and encourage participation in policy development; and (3) improve knowledge sharing and capacity building for MSMEs.
To engage the MSME sector to help build sustainable and inclusive growth in the region, the APEC MSME Marketplace is being implemented in three phases.
On its first phase (2016-2017), the Marketplace created linkages to key information by member economies and other available resources, particularly on trade regulations and business support services. In its current phase (2017-2018), more site functionalities are being developed. This includes, among others, the provision for MSMEs to join the directory of exporters.
For the third phase (2018-2019), APEC is working on increasing the trade facilitation capability of the Marketplace through more business matching activities.
Users and stakeholders are encouraged to provide feedback to help improve the site as the region’s trading environment continues to evolve.
Through the Marketplace, MSMEs are well placed to leverage on the endless and exciting opportunities to go global and penetrate more markets.
“The challenge now is to continue to take the innovation and trade agenda forward by leveraging on strategic partnerships that will enable MSMEs to gain the most benefit,” Lopez added.
He called on all APEC member economies to work for closer cooperation and stronger collaboration as they work toward fulfilling their commitment to MSMEs: to help them become competitive and resilient as they embrace the opportunities and challenges globalization brings
