by admin | Mar 5, 2018 | Business, National News
05 March 2018 – The Department of Trade and Industry, through the Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC) in partnership with The British Council, opens a Creative Enterprise Programme for Filipino creative entrepreneurs on April 17-19, 2018 at the PTTC, Pasay City.
A three-day practical workshop that helps creative entrepreneurs unlock their business ideas, participants will learn the key aspects of setting up and running a creative business that will turn these ideas into a reality – from developing business proposition, to exploring their potential customer base, and thinking about finances.
The workshop is led by Catherine Docherty, an accredited trainer and creative entrepreneur, who has worked in design and innovation for over 20 years in the UK. She is also Founder and Managing Director of Journey Associates, an agency that helps organizations improve their economic and social impact through a participatory, design-led approach.
First launched in the Philippines in 2015, the Creative Enterprise Programme is developed by Nesta, the UK’s innovation foundation, designed specifically for the creative industries, such as advertising, architecture, arts & culture, craft, design, fashion, games, music, publishing, tech, TV and film. Past participant Kiko Kintanar of Earthworks Fashion shares, “It was exciting and fun. It placed my goals into perspective and gave me an idea on how to start a creative enterprise or improve it.”
All participants get a certificate of completion from British Council, PTTC, and Nesta.
Interested parties are invited to apply before 30 March 2018 through British Council Philippines’ website (http://britishcouncil.ph). You may also contact PTTC thru Guia Soriano at guiasoriano@pttc.gov.ph | 831-9988 or 263-7931. Workshop fees and early bird rates apply.
by admin | Mar 5, 2018 | Business, DTI Updates
Are your eyes all set for cool, modern and 100% Filipino creations? Join us at a Buyers’ Day on March 08, 2018 at 1:30 pm at the Golokal!ConceptStore@DTI and check out the newest collections for the season.
by admin | Mar 5, 2018 | DTI Updates, Photo Story
DTI INKS PARTNERSHIP WITH SHOPINAS, AIR 21. Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Shopinas and Air 21 on 5 March 2018 to provide an e-commerce platform for Go Lokal! products. “This is a partnership on innovation, which is a key element in DTI’s thrust to support the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Through this platform, our MSMEs will be able to reach out a larger market beyond the boundaries of the country while maximizing their potential,” said Sec. Lopez. A specially designed Go Lokal! microsite will be available on Shopinas website that will feature MSME products. Items purchased on this platform will be delivered through Air 21. Go Lokal! accredited stores will also be featured on the main website bearing a badge for identification. “This partnership allows us to fulfill our mission to empower local entrepreneurs by bringing their businesses online and pushing Filipino e-commerce to be a dominant force in the world,” said Air 21 Global Inc. President and CEO Lucia Jane Lina. Shopinas and Air 21 are two of the businesses under Air 21 Global Inc. The group specializes in e-commerce, logistics, and customer service. In the photo are (L to R): Air 21 Head for Regional Business Development Rhona Begonia, Air 21/Shopinas Digital Business Head Mark Joseph Panganiban, DTI Assistant Secretary Rosvi Gaetos, Air21 Global Inc. President and CEO Lucia Jane Lina, Sec. Ramon Lopez, Airfreight 2100 President Reuben Pangan, DTI Director Rhodora Leaño, and Assistant Director Marievic Bonoan
by admin | Mar 4, 2018 | Local News / Bohol Balita
By JUNE S. BLANCO
REP. Erico Aristotle “Aris” Aumentado will discuss with the mayors of the towns in Bohol’s 2nd district their respective development plans to ensure that these jive with the District Economic Master Plan (DEMP).
Aumentado said he will meet the mayors shortly to ensure that their plans dovetail with the DEMP, the details of which are now being finalized by a team from the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
The draft DEMP identifies infrastructure, tourism potentials, economic zones and telecommunications as priority key areas.
The solon said only when these are established will a place be attractive to potential investors.
More often than not, he said, investors pour money only into businesses that they are currently involved in. When they find a locale’s business climate to be suitable, they tend to expand. When they feel the business environment to be friendly, they may venture into new but related businesses.
Putting up infrastructure like seaports, airports, roads and bridges, telecommunications will definitely make a place inviting to locators.
He said these will facilitate the transport going in and out of the locality of goods for raw materials and finished products for marketing.
The solon added that he has enlisted the help of concerned agencies in upgrading the airport, seaports and other facilities in Ubay – the perceived district “center”. The seaport has been expanded while the airport runway will be extended and widened.
The DEMP will serve as the district’s development “bible” to make headway for progress. Otherwise, he said, development will be topsy-turvy.
Harmonizing the towns’ development plans, he said, augurs well for the synchronized and well spread development of the district.
by admin | Feb 28, 2018 | Business, National News
28 February 2018 – Eight days to go before Go Lokal!’s launches its newest collections for the season at a Buyers’ Day on March 08, 2018. Go Lokal! is a retail concept store of Philippine products and a free innovative marketing tool developed by the Department of Trade and Industry for the country’s MSMEs.
The event will be highlighted with the awarding of the Top Brand discoveries of 2017, startups that fulfilled their goal of creating value, supporting dramatic bottom-line results and acting as a strategic asset to customers worldwide.
The Buyers’ Day will be held at the GoLokal!ConceptStore@DTI located at the Ground Floor, Trade and Industry Building, 361 Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City. For more information on Go Lokal!, please visit golokal.dti.gov.ph.
by admin | Feb 26, 2018 | DTI Updates, National News
26 February 2018 – The Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC) of the Department of Trade and Industry and Hinrich Foundation, with other cooperating organizations like the Export Marketing Bureau (EMB)-DTI, the German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GPCCI/ AHK Philippines) and Leipzig University, held the 1st session of Export Manager Advanced Training Program on February 16-18, 2018 at the PTTC in Pasay City. It was attended by 35 participants from 29 exporting companies and five participants from DTI.
“Going international is like putting up a new one. It has its own select challenges, has its own demands, has its own processes, and basically, a very much bigger set of paradigms to interact with. And this session is already set up in 28 countries, and you are the first in the Philippines. And we hope that with support from our European friends like the German Chamber, we’ll see more of our European partners with us.” shared PTTC Executive Director, Nestor P. Palabyab.
GPCCI Executive Director Peter Kompalla, said in his welcome remarks that the program aims to build bridges between the two countries to foster international business relationship. Mr. Kompalla added that the German government is not a one-way road and is not only supporting German companies in the Philippines, but that it also provides equal support to Philippine companies that will lead to the European market.
International SEPT Program of Leipzig University Director Prof. Dr. Utz Dornberger emphasized that this training on international entrepreneurship is a knowledge transfer program which aims to equip the participants with new management tools for an innovative and proactive approach to new markets. Prof. Dr. Dornberger conducted the 3-day workshop and shared practical tools in quantitative and qualitative market research, how to create the right value proposition and the importance of creating a sound customer profile called “persona”.
The next & final session of the EMAT Manila will be on March 11-13, 2018 focusing on Market Entry Strategies, with by Mr Gunnar Kassberg of Leipzig University as the resource person. This is followed by individual coaching sessions on March 12-13, 2018 at the Philippine Trade Training Center.
In photo: (Front row, third from left) Hinrich Foundation Program Director Mr. Alexander Boome, Prof. Dr. Utz Dornberger of Leipzig University, EMB-DTI Assistant Director Agnes Legaspi,PTTC Executive Director Nestor P. Palabyab, and GPCCI Executive Director Peter Kompalla and (Second row, fifth from left) PTTC Acting Deputy Executive Director Elizabeth Manuel. Joining them are participants from different industries and regions in the Philippines and the training program coordinators.
In photo: Participants (from left to right: Greenflex International Corp., Greenlife Coconut Producer Phils, and Rathbone & Co., Inc.) in one-on-one consultations with Prof. Dr. Utz Dornberger during the workshop exercises.
by admin | Feb 23, 2018 | DTI Updates, National News
23 February 2018 – To mark the 31st founding anniversary of the Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC) on February 27, 2018, a series of seminars will be conducted on the same day until February 28, 2018. The PTTC is the trade training arm of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
The two-day event will offer seminars on food safety, innovation, e-commerce and exports for a total of 15 training programs. Activities include a special forum entitled “Towards Inclusive Prosperity for the Filipino MSMEs” in partnership with Ureka while businesses with required permits and business registration documents may also have the chance to sign up for e-commerce platform. Registration is free to interested participants on a first come, first served basis.
PTTC invites all the MSMEs, with special mention to women entrepreneurs, to attend the two-day training program. More information on the schedules of the seminars are available at the www.pttc.gov.ph or Facebook page at www.facebook.com/DTI.PTTC.
by admin | Feb 23, 2018 | National News
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) issued the Department Administrative Order (DAO) 18-02 adopting the Philippine National Standard International – Electro-technical Commission (PNS/IEC) 62560:2012 – Self-Ballasted LED Lamps for General Lighting Services by Voltage > 50V – Safety Requirements, as one of the PNS for mandatory implementation under the DTI-Bureau of Philippine Standards’ (DTIBPS) Product Certification Scheme.
The DAO 18-02 declares the Philippine National Standard (PNS) for Self- Ballasted LED Lamps for General Lighting Services, for mandatory implementation thus, the self-ballasted LED lamp is now added to the list of products that the DTI regulates prior to their distribution to the market.
DTI- Consumer Protection Group (DTI-CPG) Undersecretary Atty. Ruth B. Castelo emphasized, “This DAO is a result of a series of public consultations with relevant stakeholders. This will further the department’s efforts in ensuring the safety of our consumers especially now that more and more individuals and organizations are using LED lamps in their homes and workplaces”.
Under the DAO 18-02, the importers or manufacturers of self-ballasted LED lamps with a rated wattage of up to 30 W; a rated voltage of > 50 V up to 250V; and, E14 and E27capped- LED lamps, must secure an Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) or a Philippine Standard (PS) License prior to its distribution and sale.
The DAO 18-02 also states that a manufacturer must be able to conduct test parameters on marking completeness, legibility, and durability; interchangeability; protection against accidental contact with live parts; insulation resistance and electric strength test; mechanical strength test (torsion resistance); and, cap temperature rise.
“We advise the buying public to make it a habit to look for the PS mark or ICC stickers when purchasing not only LED lamps, but also other products that the DTI regulates. This will only help ascertain that these products were tested and verified for their safety and quality,” DTI-BPS Director-in-Charge Engr. James Empeño affirmed.
Signed last 29 January 2018, the DTI DAO 18-02 or the Mandatory Philippine National Standard (PNS) for Ballasted LED Lamps for General Lighting Services takes effect 15 days after its publication in a national newspaper of general circulation.
The DTI published the said DAO in the Manila Times and Manila Standard last 10 February 2018 and shall be effective on 25 February 2018.
All manufacturers and importers of said LED lamps are required to undergo the mandatory product certification procedures six (6) months after the effectivity of the DAO 18-02.
For a copy of the DAO 18-02:2018, visit the BPS Standards and Conformance Portal at www.bps@dti.gov.ph. For more information on the said DAO, call DTI-BPS at (02) 751.4708.
by admin | Feb 20, 2018 | Business, National News
DTI-CITEM targets $10M export sales in FOODEX Japan
The Department of Trade and Industry’s Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (DTI-CITEM) seeks to augment the Philippines’ trade relations with Japan as it showcases the country’s finest tropical flavors in the largest food fair in the Asia-Pacific region.
Under Food Philippines brand, DTI-CITEM will bring the country’s top exporters of tropical fruits, beverages and other processed food in the 43rdInternational Food and Beverage Exhibition, popularly known as FOODEX Japan, on 6-9 March at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan.
“Japanese people are no stranger to us. We know that they have a penchant for our tropical fruits and that is what we are looking to showcase as we return to FOODEX,” said Nora K. Terrado, DTI Undersecretary for Trade and Investments Promotion and CITEM Officer-in-Charge (OIC).
“We will also feature other tropical food and ingredients to widen the line of Philippine products shipped to Japan and promote the country as a premier sourcing destination,” added Terrado.
FOODEX is known as a major gateway to the Japanese market. Last year, the four-day event welcomed over 3,000 local and international exhibitors, as well as more than 82,000 buyers from the food manufacturing, service, distribution, and trading sectors across the global food industry.
Aside from Japan, FOODEX is also vastly participated in by buyers from major regions, such as Europe, America, Africa and Australia.
In 2017, 17 local firms under the Food Philippines pavilion bagged $7.4M worth of export sales. For this upcoming participation, CITEM seeks to generate at least US$ 10 million export sales from buyers around the world.
Japan is the Philippines’ largest export destination for fresh foods and the second largest market for processed food, next to the United States. According to preliminary reports from Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Japan is among the top export destinations of the country with 16.20% total share to the country’s total merchandise exports for the period January to December 2017.
With the existing Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA), Japan provides an attractive and vast market for Philippine food suppliers to serve the retail, food service, and manufacturing industries.
The country’s participation in FOODEX Japan 2018 is being organized by CITEM, in partnership with the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) in Tokyo and Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC), as part of the DTI’s major efforts to intensify the promotion of Philippine specialty food products in overseas trade shows.
Japan remains the top destination for Philippine bananas, reaching up to US$231.3 million export sales in 2016.
by admin | Feb 19, 2018 | National News
The Department of Trade and Industry Region 4-A on February 17, 2018 will host the CALABARZON Investment Forum and B2B Meetings with the Canada Inbound Mission Delegates in Lucena City, Quezon to promote investments and exports in the region.
The forum is part of the program of activities of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce-Toronto (PCCT) Inbound Trade and Investment Mission to the Philippines, which is an offshoot of the Outbound Trade and Business Mission in Canada organized by the DTI 4-A, in cooperation with the Department of Science and Technology CALABARZON, Philippine Coconut Research and Development Foundation Incorporated, and the local government of Alabat through the support of the DTI-Foreign Trade Services Corps Toronto last November 2017.
“We in DTI want to improve the economic conditions at the grassroots level, targeting farmers and micro, small and medium enterprises, increase export of coconut products like makapuno not only to Canada but also to other parts of the world, promote organic production of an indigenous food product, and develop as part of a bigger industry development program,” DTI CALABARZON Director Marilou Toledo said.
Toledo added that the agency is promoting Philippine brands in consonance with the 7Ms strategy—mindset change, mastery, mentoring, money, machine, market access, and models of business—of entrepreneurship.
Among the investment opportunities that will be tackled is the Philippine makapuno industry and agribusiness investment promotion in the Alabat Island. PCCT has expressed serious interest in the program. Thus, the Canada delegates will be visiting the Philippines together with other Canadian-based companies such as iAdverTUBE, Canada Business Connections, Blueprint Canada, Accubooks, Montephil, Inc., Boulevard, G&C Logistics, and the Federation of Filipino Canadian Associations of Quebec to pursue and finalize talks about the joint venture project, and explore other business and investment opportunities.
The forum aims to encourage investments and exports in CALABARZON, and promote local products and services to the North American market, especially in the food and non-food sector, business process outsourcing, custom brokerage, education, construction, and real estate business.
The program will include discussions on turning Overseas Filipinos (OFs) to Overseas Filipino Investors (OFIs), technologies on makapuno processing, support program for the Alabat Island Economy, and a signing of the memorandum of agreement.
by admin | Feb 15, 2018 | Business, Negosyo Center Updates, Photo Story
Helping MSMEs maximize e-commerce capabilities. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) teamed up with telecommunications giant PLDT and Go Negosyo to equip more than 100,000 MSMEs with digital solutions and expand opportunities through e-commerce by 2020. Through the partnership, PLDT and Go Negosyo will provide the three Ms strategy of money, mentorship, and market through Negosyo Centers to help MSMEs thrive in becoming globally competitive, and contribute to the economy. At the MSME e-commerce enablement program launch were (from L-R) PLDT SME Nation Head Mitch Locsin, DTI-Bureau of Small and Medium Enterprise Development (BSMED) Director Jerry Clavesillas, DTI-Bureau of Domestic Trade Promotion Assistant Director Marievic Bonoan, PLDT Enterprise SVP and Head Jovy Hernandez, League of Provinces of the Philippines Executive Director Sandra Tablan-Paredes, DTI-Regional Operations Group (ROG) Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya, DTI-ROG Assistant Secretary Demphna Du-Naga, Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo Founder Jose Ma. Concepcion, PLDT Chief Revenue Officer Eric Alberto, and Voyager and PayMaya President and CEO Orlando Vea.
