by admin | Dec 6, 2017 | DTI Updates, National News
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will continue to provide equipment sharing facilities for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as part of the agency’s drive to contribute in the administration’s Trabaho at Negosyo agenda.
“For us to contribute in providing jobs, encourage Filipinos to do business and spur economic activity in the countryside, we will provide more Shared Service Facilities (SSFs) to help MSMEs produce fast and efficient products that are proudly Filipino-made and export quality,” DTI Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya said during the Shared Service Facilities (SSF) Project Summit on December 5, 2017.
The SSF Project is DTI’s program that provides MSMEs access to technology, machinery, equipment, tools, systems, skills and knowledge under a shared system. With access to better technology and more sophisticated equipment, MSMEs will have higher productivity, better and efficient products, higher levels of innovation and creativity, and improved market access to address the gaps and bottle necks in the global value chain being faced by MSMEs.
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.
“The key to inclusive growth is our MSMEs. With the shared service facility, MSME cooperatives and entrepreneurs are provided with sophisticated equipment and machinery that will double their production and help them come up with export-ready products,” Maglaya explained.
As of October 31, 2017, DTI has provided MSMEs with 2,222 SSFs worth P1.188 billion throughout the country, benefitting 215,628 existing and potential MSMEs and has provided 111,747 jobs to Filipinos. SSF beneficiaries include cooperatives, associations or groups of MSMEs including MSMEs or individual entrepreneurs.
As backbone of the Philippine economic growth, MSMEs has since become a major priority of President Rodrigo Duterte, with DTI placing the sector’s development at the front and center of its Employment and Entrepreneurship (Trabaho at Negosyo) agenda.
Maglaya also emphasized that “aside from keeping the country moving towards a more strategic direction at the backdrop of regional development, the government vows to sustain meaningful growth that is truly inclusive—the one that reaches the bottom of the pyramid.”
Also under the SSF Project, DTI also established Fabrication Laboratories throughout the country which aims to enhance the core competencies of existing manufacturers and emerging entrepreneurs in digitally-enabled manufacturing workflows guided by art and design principles.
Through the Fabrication Laboratory, MSMEs, aspiring entrepreneurs and students are provided with innovation, prototyping technologies and software for their products and design.
Currently, there are 12 Fabrication Laboratories in the country operated by schools, institutions or centers. The Fablabs are located and cooperated by the Bohol State University in Bohol; Philippine Science Highschool Central Luzon Angeles City, Pampanga; Local Government Unit in Santiago City, Isabela; Don Honorio Ventura Technological State University in Bacolor, Pampanga; Philippine Science Highschool – Ilocos Region Campus San Ildefonso, Ilocos Sur; University of the Philippines (UP) Cebu City; Bicol University, Legaspi City Albay; Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology Iligan City; Philippine Footwear Federation, Inc. Marikina City; University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts, Diliman, Quezon City; Zamboanga Polytechnic College; and Mindanao Trade Expo Foundation, Davao City.
The SSF Program is part of the Philippine MSME Development Plan to encourage the graduation of MSMEs to the next level where they could tap a better and wider market share and be integrated in the global supply chain.
“We will continue to push significant interventions to support the growth of MSMEs and build a climate conducive to business and innovation. We will continue to provide the necessary services to help entrepreneurs thrive and even expand your businesses in an increasingly competitive market. We will continue to implement,” Maglaya said.
by admin | Dec 4, 2017 | Business, National News
In partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry, Rustan’s Supercenter Inc opens its first Go Lokal! Store in Shopwise Araneta Center today,December 4, 2017 at 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
Go Lokal! is a retail concept store initiated by the DTI in collaboration with selected retail partners to showcase Philippine products of quality and unique designs, crafted and manufactured by the country’s MSMEs.
The Go Lokal!@ShopwiseAraneta will feature new blends and tastes of food products of selected Go Lokal! suppliers from various parts of the country in support of Shopwise’s “Flavor of the Philippines, a showcase of familiar native delicacies from the islands of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
More Go Lokal! store outlets @Rustan’sMakati, @SMKultura Makati, @Glorietta2, @Robinson’sPlaceManila, @CityMalls nationwide, @EnchantedKingdom and the GoLokal!ConceptStore@DTI located at the groundfloor of the Trade and Industry Bldg., 361 Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City.
by admin | Nov 29, 2017 | Business, National News
MANILA – Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) financing and guarantee attached corporation, Small Business Corporation (SBCorp) attached micro-finance will be offering zero percent interest loans to help the constituents of Lanao del Sur, specifically Marawi micro entrepreneurs displaced by the war, starting early December 2017 up to April 2018 as part of government rehabilitation efforts of Marawi City.
“The recent events in Marawi raised the need to generate several programs that will aide in the rehabilitation of Marawi and the full assistance to affected residents. In support of government-wide efforts to help the people of Marawi, we will be working closely with our Maranao countrymen to ensure they have access to the needed funds to get their businesses back on their feet,” said Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez.
After the interest free loan, we shall extend the Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asesnso (P3) Program which is also the Microfinance program implemented by the SBCorp. This will be complemented by starter livelihood kits being distributed by the DTI.
For Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) that want to start lending to the Lanao del Sur area in solidarity with the people of Marawi and the entire province, the P3 Program will provide credit risk support to MFIs in exchange for their timely and quick response. A DTI-SBCorp team has been assigned at DTI-Marawi to set up the P3 facility, which will also be supported by DTI-Cagayan de Oro.
To date, SBCorp—with the support of the DTI regional and provincial offices—has accredited a total of 94 MFIs, plus another 45 MFIs in the pipeline. Moreover, the P3 Program is now rolled out throughout the entire country from north to south except for a handful of provinces, with close to 40,000 borrowers to date.
Most of the MFIs that have signed up are cooperatives, i.e. self-help people’s organizations that have a good grasp of the needs of their members to grow their businesses. Likewise, several large MFIs—including the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD)—have aired their support to the program for its timely scale up even in remote areas of the country.
“We laud SBCorp’s untiring efforts to link up with finance institutions across the country to ensure conduits are in place for the P3 Program. We have the funds, and we now have the channels to help our MSMEs expand their businesses,” said Sec. Lopez
For 2018, the government will add another Php1.0 billion to the P3 fund to support more micro enterprises in growing their small business.
The SBCorp will be accrediting least five local MFIs per province in the coming years to ensure that micro enterprises will have easy and reliable access to reasonably-priced credit within their own locality, with a total of 400 grassroots conduits targeted. The agency will also support these MFIs by way of capacity-building training.
Through the P3 program, the government hopes to encourage communities to organize themselves into cooperatives or other self-help units engaged in entrepreneurship.
DTI also opened the invitation to the rural banking sector to support the P3 Program, given the more than 2,000 branches nationwide that are mostly rural-based. These make the small banks a potent force for scaling up the P3 Program and for improving the fund-channeling system so that the fund reaches micro enterprises in a timely and judicious manner.
Launched last April 2017, the P3 Program supports micro entrepreneurs across the country with an initial funding of Php850 million via lower cost loans. The program is intended to help those people involved in micro enterprises and who are vulnerable to usurious lenders in the absence of an alternative source.
Under the program, a micro enterprise can borrow between Php5,000 up to Php100,000 depending on its business need and repayment capacity. Interest rate and service fees do not exceed 2.5 percent monthly as compared to the 20 percent monthly rate under the 5/6 system. Documentation is simplified and processing time is also reasonable.
Among those helped by the P3 Program were Rose Marie Obena of Tacloban City, Leyte and Hercolano Villasin of Calubian, Leyte. Obena was the sole survivor among her family after Typhoon Yolanda, and was among the first batch of market vendors that accessed a P3 loan to expand her store. The 78-year old Villasin, on the other hand, accessed the P3 Program through the Fatima Multi-Purpose Cooperative (FATIMA MPC) to support his dried fish business, which he had been doing since he was in his teens.
“Through the P3, our poor sectors can find relief from overly expensive borrowings as they pursue their livelihood activities,” the trade chief said.
by admin | Nov 24, 2017 | Business, National News, Negosyo Center Updates
24 November 2017, Manila – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) teams up with listed property developer DoubleDragon Properties Inc. in the development of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the provinces through the Go Lokal stores. Under the partnership, DoubleDragon will operate and manage Go Lokal stores in all CityMalls branches.
Go Lokal!@CityMall will be launched nationwide tomorrow, November 25, 2017 in CityMall Imus, Cavite. Registration starts at 11:00 am.
Visit Go Lokal! Store outlets @SMKultura Makati, @Rustan’sMakati, @Glorietta@, @Robinson’sPlaceManila, @EnchantedKingdom and @GoLokal!ConceptStore@DTI located at the Groundfloor, Trade and Industry Bldg., 361 Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City.
by admin | Nov 21, 2017 | National News
Manila – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese Premiere Li Keqiang witnessed (15 November 2017) the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) of the Philippines (PH) and the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) of the People’s Republic of China (PROC) during the sidelines of the visit of the Chinese Head of Government to the Philippines.
DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez and MOFCOM Vice-Minister Fu Ziying signed the MOU on joint cooperation on Industrial Parks Development, which would expand opportunities for bilateral trade and economic cooperation.
“The MOU sets the tone in creating a program that will facilitate a seamless investment guide for Chinese investors in PH industrial parks,” said Sec. Lopez.
Sec. Lopez further shared that the MOU provides provisions on undertaking business matching activities to facilitate possible partnership and collaboration between PH and PROC enterprises.
“This joint cooperation will strengthen economic ties between the two countries by enhancing the Philippines’ manufacturing competence and diversifying China’s investments in the Philippines,” said the trade chief.
Chinese investors have earlier visited possible locations in Luzon and Mindanao for industrial park development, as a response to earlier commitments of China to President Duterte to expand opportunities in the Philippines.
Meanwhile, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) of the Philippines and the State Intellectual Property on Cooperation of China also signed a MOU in protecting, utilizing, managing, and enforcing intellectual property through joint cooperation. The MOU was signed by IPO Director General Josephine Santiago and National Development Reform Commission (NDRC) Vice Chairman Zhang Yong.
Twelve other agreements were signed during the event, including cooperation on youth, infrastructure development, climate change, defense industry, and investment and production, among others.
“The signing of these documents reflects the commitment of Philippines and China towards mutually beneficial cooperation, as well as the resolve of the administration of President Duterte to strengthen further the renewed ties of friendship with China, our Asian neighbor,” he concluded.
by admin | Nov 16, 2017 | Business, National News
A delegation led by the Department of Trade and Industry – Calabarzon Office (DTI-Calabarzon) is in Canada and the United States for a trade and business mission to explore joint ventures and market arrangements and to also seek to strengthen business tie-ups and linkages towards business opportunities for Calabarzon enterprises from 12 November 12 to December 02, 2017.
DTI Calabarzon Regional Director Marilou Toledo leads the 20-day business mission and is composed of selected micro, small and medium entrepreneurs (MSME) along with officials and representatives of the municipal government of Alabat, Quezon, Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and DTI Laguna Provincial Office.
The group will actively engage in exploratory networking activities for possible future joint ventures and market arrangements and strengthening business tie-ups/network linkages towards business opportunities through the B2B meetings, market outlet visits and business matching sessions.
On top of the networking activities, the mission hopes to participate in learning sessions.
“I am hopeful that this mission will better equip our MSMEs to help them prosper in business and at the same time provide better opportunities for market linkages, business networking and know market trends and innovative product developments in these lucrative markets,” Toledo said.
The Canadian leg coincides with Canadian Executive Service Organization’s (CESO) 50th anniversary celebration with Toledo gracing the event as a distinguished institutional partner in strengthening MSMSEs in the region.
“This trip to Canada is built on the long-held strategic partnership with the Canadian Executive Service Organization (CESO), one of Canada’s leading volunteer-based development organizations”, Toledo said.
As a strategic partner, the DTI Calabarzon has forged collaboration with CESO to continuously capacitate and equip the Calabarzon MSMEs in their respective business operations.
To pave the way for the mission, DTI last month initiated a workshop to prime up prospective participants on their readiness to export and penetrate the Canadian market.
Business meetings and other exploratory activities are coordinated with the CESO officials, both Canada and Philippine-based, between the Philippine Trade and Investment Centers (PTICs) through Senior Trade Commissioner Ma. Roseni Alvero (DTI Foreign Trade Service Corps, PTIC-Canada), Nicanor Bautista, Commercial Counselor of PTIC-New York, and the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto, led by Consul General Rosalita Prospero.
