Small biz owners see better year with gov’t training

 Entrepreneurship

Liza Agoot

BAGUIO CITY – Small businesses that opened right before the Covid-19 pandemic have high hopes of better opportunities, especially with the capacity building training from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
    Guil Ocampo, a young entrepreneur in his mid-30s who is operating a coffee shop along Session Road here, is hopeful of good prospects for another year after seeing good signs in recent months and after undergoing management and financial preparation training from DTI’s “Kapatid Mentor Me” (KMM) program.
    He said the KMM training “was a big change in the set-up (of my business)” since it allowed him “how to view the daily sales for a long-term situation.”
    “Knowing how to make the financial report and interpret it, and how to properly run the business without encountering problems with government regulatory offices are also important factors. More importantly, having the confidence that I know what I am doing in managing the business is a big boost,” he said in Filipino.
    Ocampo joined the KMM program in 2022, when he nearly lost everything and realized the need to be equipped with additional knowledge.
    “I was unemployed after resigning from work to start a business and my life's savings were drained from opening the cafe and moving to another location along Session Road," he shared.
    Ocampo and his friends opened their business in Feb. 2020 in a hotel near Wright Park after seeing the potential of a coffee-related business while doing documentaries as a government media practitioner.
    Around a month later, a nationwide lockdown was declared due to the pandemic, prompting the immediate closure of the establishment.
    Ocampo tried to continue operating by adopting a delivery service as there were no dine-in clients.
    He said the pandemic taught him a lesson - - to cooperate and collaborate with other businesses.
    The current location of his coffee shop was used as a drop-off area for cosplay items.
    To date, the venue houses not just a coffee shop that allows its customers to play board games but also a place where cosplayers can display and sell their costumes and other items.
    Similarly, Florence Aquino, 45, and her sister opened a mini grocery in 2021 on the ground floor of their family residence in Irisan.
    Like Ocampo, she and her sister first opened a small milk tea and fruit shop at the university belt in January 2020, but which also became a casualty of the pandemic.
    Aquino was forced to attend the KMM training in 2022 since her sister cannot attend because she was working as a nurse at the local health office.
    "The mentoring program of your specific venture was very helpful. It will allow you to take a glimpse at the future while standing in the present," she said in Ilocano.
    Samuel Gallardo, assistant director of DTI-Cordillera in an earlier interview, said the KMM program is a regular activity of the agency that is being implemented with the help of stakeholders from the private sector who serve as mentors.
    "This is a good opportunity to be trained as an entrepreneur since this allow the business to flourish. Everything that will make a person well-rounded in knowing how to start, run the business and improve it are provided free to trainees, " he said. -- PNA
 

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Crocheted products making comeback in Baguio City

By Liza Agoot

BAGUIO CITY – High school learners in this city in the 80s and 90s used to be seen with either knitting needles or crochet hooks with rolls of colorful threads packed in their school bags, with thread-based products as among the popular souvenir items here then.
    Melanie Aquino or Lanie, a Baguio native who became a nurse in the United Kingdom, said she graduated high school in 1990 and started knitting and crocheting in her elementary years because these were popular among the youth.
    She said that while she was not very good at making designs, she finished high school with several of her Technology and Home Economics (TLE) projects being thread-based as they were mandatory.
    “Even in elementary we already had both projects. My classmates who were good at it were even doing toppers for themselves aside from table-top sheets for their houses,” she said.
    Lanie said some of the girls at her school, an all-girls school, have cute and colorful needles and hooks that come in different sizes, which was a possession she envied from her schoolmates who could afford them.
    Growing up in Baguio, she recalled that the Marbay shopping area, the building beside the city market for souvenir items, used to have a lot of knitted and crocheted apparel like the “cardigan” that also became popular during her high school days.
    “If you were wearing that cardigan, you were ‘in’ because it was a fad. So, some of my classmates were even making their own. You can also see the Marbay sellers knitting or crocheting while attending to their stores,” she reminisced.
    With no gadgets then and shops to be paid to complete school projects, learners have to sit on their chairs as the teacher looks at each student spending the class hour doing their projects as proof of their effort, until the date of submission.
    Lanie also recalled the sight of the school grounds filled with the “girls” sitting and talking among themselves while holding on to their needles or hooks.
    “Breaks and waiting time were for knitting or crocheting if you do not have clubs for extra-curricular activities,” she said in Ilocano.
    But the popularity waned and people stopped holding on to the needles and hooks until during the Covid-19 pandemic when crocheted items started to be popularized and sold online.
    Susan Recolosado, 63,  member of the “crochet aunties” or an informal group composed of women fond of crocheting said it is her pastime.
    “I am a senior citizen. This is my past time that I enjoyed and still enjoy doing, aside from earning a little from the products I make,” she said.
    Susan said she was in elementary when her mother saw her interest and taught her how to crochet, initially doing simple lines and then making the design.
    She said that with crocheted items popular when she was young, she used to do her own school bags, ponchos, skirts, bonnets, arm and leg warmers, and other clothes using the granny square, mesh designs or the square windows
    When the Sunday Session road market was started before the pandemic, Susan started selling crocheted stuff, until now.
Susan said crocheting became her ally against the boredom of staying home during the lockdown.
    She was able to do a lot of stuff during the pandemic and the reopening of Session Road for the Sunday market opened an opportunity to sell the items she has made.
    Her daughter, Therese, 20 years old, now a first year college student, also started to crochet about two years ago after seeing that the items are actually being bought.
    "The popularity of the crocheted items is coming back and it is good because we used to be popular with this. I am glad that our handcrafted items are also being bought no matter how simple our designs are,” Susan said.
    Susan said her group donated crocheted bonnets to cancer patients at the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center during the pandemic.
    “I was happy sharing the items because I was sharing a part of me to the cancer patients -- a bonnet that I made and spent time to do,” she said.
    “A lot of people like me still make crochet project not just for the little amount we get from the sales but because this is a part of me and my childhood. Crocheting is also (a known character of) Baguio, and I am glad that crocheted items are again slowly becoming popular,” she added. -- PNA
 
 

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Partners leave jobs to start profitable seedling production

By Leilanie Adriano

LAOAG CITY – Two young farmers in Batac City, Ilocos Norte now find fulfillment in being engaged in farming after leaving their respective jobs in 2022.
    Kevin Wayne Baga, 27, and his girlfriend, Ana Cristina Guiang, 26, are owners of KA-Bukid Propagation Farm, which produces seedlings for local farmers to grow. Both are licensed agriculturists who believe that farmers need quality seedlings to maximize the potential of their produce.
    Located just a few meters along the Manila North Road in Sitio Nagabaan, the farm won in the 2021 Young Farmers Challenge Fund program of the Department of Agriculture. Using their P100,000 grand prize as start-up capital, the two set up the seedling nursery within a 2,000-square-meter agricultural lot owned by Kevin’s grandmother.
    Kevin used to work in a private seed company and agri-machinery firm, while Ana taught short-term agriculture courses offered by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
    As both realized seedling propagation needs tender loving care, they took a risk and quit their jobs to pursue a livelihood in agriculture.
    “We never regret our decision because we love our job and we are happy helping our fellow farmers,” Kevin and Ana said in a joint interview with the Philippine News Agency at the KA-Bukid Farm on Monday.
    Like in any enterprise, Ana said one must be “hands-on” to make it work.
    "You need to focus and think of ways how to make it a profitable venture,” she added.
    Aside from serving walk-in clients or joining agri-trade fairs to establish a network with clients, the Ka-Bukid Farm is also active on social media where they post their ready-to-plant seedlings such as tomatoes, eggplant, sweet and hot pepper, papaya, fruit-bearing trees and ornamentals, among others.
    They are also open for reservation, pick up, and delivery as they propagate high-value seedlings all year round. To date, the nursery has a capacity of 1,600 trays. Each tray is sold at PHP250.
    “It is a good business because you just don’t earn for money, you can help farmers too by ensuring that the seedlings they are planting are free from pests and diseases,” Ana said, as cited that the farm has also become a source of sustainable livelihood to their elderly kin Norma Rayosa, 65, and Romula Clemente, 60.
    “Seedling propagation is quite an easy and fulfilling job even for seniors like us,” said Lola Norma as she went about her work in the nursery.
    Both she and Romula sometimes help in harvesting vegetables at the production area as they grow high-value crops.
    With a high demand for quality seedlings among Ilocos farmers, the KA-Bukid Farm plans to expand the nursery to cater to more clients in nearby provinces like Ilocos Sur, Cagayan and Apayao.
    The farm is also being eyed as a learning site for practical agriculture. The process of accreditation with the Agricultural Training Institute is ongoing. -- PNA 
 
 
 

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Crocheted products making a comeback in Baguio City

By Liza Agoot

BAGUIO CITY – High school learners in this city in the 80s and 90s used to be seen with either knitting needles or crochet hooks with rolls of colorful threads packed in their school bags, with thread-based products as among the popular souvenir items here then.
    Melanie Aquino or Lanie, a Baguio native who became a nurse in the United Kingdom, said she graduated high school in 1990 and started knitting and crocheting in her elementary years because these were popular among the youth.
    She said that while she was not very good at making designs, she finished high school with several of her Technology and Home Economics (TLE) projects being thread-based as they were mandatory.
    “Even in elementary we already had both projects. My classmates who were good at it were even doing toppers for themselves aside from table-top sheets for their houses,” she said.
    Lanie said some of the girls at her school, an all-girls school, have cute and colorful needles and hooks that come in different sizes, which was a possession she envied from her schoolmates who could afford them.
    Growing up in Baguio, she recalled that the Marbay shopping area, the building beside the city market for souvenir items, used to have a lot of knitted and crocheted apparel like the “cardigan” that also became popular during her high school days.
“If you were wearing that cardigan, you were ‘in’ because it was a fad. So, some of my classmates were even making their own. You can also see the Marbay sellers knitting or crocheting while attending to their stores,” she reminisced.
    With no gadgets then and shops to be paid to complete school projects, learners have to sit on their chairs as the teacher looks at each student spending the class hour doing their projects as proof of their effort, until the date of submission.
    Lanie also recalled the sight of the school grounds filled with the “girls” sitting and talking among themselves while holding on to their needles or hooks.
    “Breaks and waiting time were for knitting or crocheting if you do not have clubs for extra-curricular activities,” she said in Ilocano.
    But the popularity waned and people stopped holding on to the needles and hooks until during the Covid-19 pandemic when crocheted items started to be popularized and sold online.
    Susan Recolosado, 63,  member of the “crochet aunties” or an informal group composed of women fond of crocheting said it is her pastime.
    “I am a senior citizen. This is my past time that I enjoyed and still enjoy doing, aside from earning a little from the products I make,” she said.
    Susan said she was in elementary when her mother saw her interest and taught her how to crochet, initially doing simple lines and then making the design.
    She said that with crocheted items popular when she was young, she used to do her own school bags, ponchos, skirts, bonnets, arm and leg warmers, and other clothes using the granny square, mesh designs or the square windows
    When the Sunday Session road market was started before the pandemic, Susan started selling crocheted stuff, until now.
    Susan said crocheting became her ally against the boredom of staying home during the lockdown.
    She was able to do a lot of stuff during the pandemic and the reopening of Session Road for the Sunday market opened an opportunity to sell the items she has made.
    Her daughter, Therese, 20 years old, now a first year college student, also started to crochet about two years ago after seeing that the items are actually being bought.
    "The popularity of the crocheted items is coming back and it is good because we used to be popular with this. I am glad that our handcrafted items are also being bought no matter how simple our designs are,” Susan said.
    Susan said her group donated crocheted bonnets to cancer patients at the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center during the pandemic.
    “I was happy sharing the items because I was sharing a part of me to the cancer patients -- a bonnet that I made and spent time to do,” she said.
    “A lot of people like me still make crochet project not just for the little amount we get from the sales but because this is a part of me and my childhood. Crocheting is also (a known character of) Baguio, and I am glad that crocheted items are again slowly becoming popular,” she added. -- PNA
 
 

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Ilocos Norte MSMEs receive livelihood kits

LIVELIHOOD KIT -- Local entrepreneurs receive livelihood kits in Laoag City Nov. 8. To avail of the aid, recipients have to undergo business seminars to sustain their livelihood. (Photo courtesy of DTI Ilocos Norte)

Entrepreneurship

Leilanie Adriano 

LAOAG CITY – Ilocos Norte micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) affected by Typhoon Egay last July have been identified to receive livelihood kits worth PHP5,000 each.
    Under the Department of Trade and Industry’s economic recovery-targeted program “Pangkabuhayan sa Pagbangon at Ginhawa,” the MSMEs are allocated sugarcane processing, food service, food processing, school supplies, barber shop, tailoring, furniture-making and dry goods retailing kits. 
    "Prior to receiving the livelihood recovery kits, the recipients have to undergo entrepreneurial seminar or business continuity training to capacitate them and be able to generate higher sales as they resume business,” Maricor Racela, senior trade industry development specialist and trade promotions officer of DTI locos Norte, said in an interview Friday.
    The first batch, composed of 128 stakeholders from this city, received their livelihood kits on Wednesday. 
    The second and third batches are scheduled to receive their kits on Nov. 21 and 22 at the provincial capitol auditorium.
    Previous beneficiary Nora dela Cruz of Barangay Cabungaan, Laoag City told the Philippine News Agency Friday that she produced more after obtaining a means to improve her source of livelihood. 
    With the help of the DTI and other government agencies, Dela Cruz’ sugarcane juice food products, specifically different variants of vinegars such as plain sukang iloco (llocos vinegar), suka with sili (spicy vinegar), and basi, are best sellers during trade fairs.
    “I am so thankful to the DTI for helping me grow as a small-time entrepreneur,” Dela Cruz said, adding that she gained confidence because of the guidance of the DTI in developing and bringing her products before a wider market.
Since 2017, DTI has been offering free coaching and mentoring programs to Ilocos Norte entrepreneurs.
    Known as the Kapatid Mentor Me, the program aims to guide MSMEs scale up their businesses through 10 weeks of one-on-one, module-based consultations and coaching sessions with business experts to help them become globally competitive enterprises.

Akin to a “big brother-small brother” concept, the program allows mentees to learn strategies on marketing, financial, human resource, and operation management, among others.

On the 11th week, the MSMEs are required to present their business development plans before graduating from the program. -- PNA

 

 

 

 

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Cordi products draw interest in Manila fair

By Liza Agoot 

BAGUIO CITY – Products of at least 90 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) from the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) drew interest among consumers during the 10-day annual Impakabsat regional trade fair in Metro Manila Nov. 17 to 26.
    “We are always banking on the quality of the products we sell during the Impakabsat trade fair we organize every year. Our MSMEs are able to sell not only during the duration of the fair but even after that,” DTI-CAR assistant director lawyer Samuel Gallardo said in phone interview on Thursday.
    Gallardo said the department has partnered with a company that will showcase the products online to cater to those who cannot visit the trade fair.
    “It is another avenue to sell more,” he said, but did not identify the firm tapped for the online offering.
    Gallardo said the fair recorded its highest sales in 2011 at PHP66 million.
    “We have seen on many occasions that our MSMEs are developing regular market after the event because their existence was noticed by the buyers, and that is our goal --to allow the MSMEs to sell and earn and promote themselves to the world, especially with the online portal that we have for them this year,” he added.
    DTI data show there are over 20,000 MSMEs in the region, most of which are being assisted by the agency and other government offices to further enhance their economic venture and livelihood.
    This year’s trade fair, named after the Ilocano word brotherhood as well as the collection of the first letter of the provinces that comprise the region -- Ifugao, Mountain Province, Abra, Kalinga, Apayao, Benguet together with Baguio, will be held at the Carousel Court of Festival Supermall in Alabang, Muntinlupa.
    It started in 1992 and showcases organic and natural products, fresh and processed food, wearables and homestyle, coffee, cacao, bamboo craft, woodcraft, furniture and furnishings, tourism product promotion, and creative allied industries like tattoo, arts and crafts and creative works. -- PNA

 

 

 

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UnionBank’s 'Powered UP' campaign launches UB Negosyante

 Banking

Mariel De Los Santos

Solidifying its reputation of being a bank for MSMEs, Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) recently launched UB Negosyante, its “powered Up” solution for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) At the Podium Hall in Mandaluyong last Nov 8. The new brand for UnionBank’s MSME business banking was unveiled to the media and launched to a gathering of MSME clients and prospects.
    UB Negosyante’ s powered up campaign comes on the heels of the Bank’s business banking app being recognized as the Best Smart Payments Solution by an SME Bank by The Digital Banker at the recently held Global Retail Banking Innovation Awards 2023 in Singapore. UB Negosyante was launched with the aim of supporting MSMEs in their entrepreneurial journey by prioritizing their needs, whether they’re small and medium business owners, sole proprietors, or micropreneurs who want to take their business to the next level.
    UnionBank launched the MSME Business Banking app in 2021 and the powered up UB Negosyante builds on the benefits of the original app as it has enhanced tools that can help entrepreneurs take their business even further.  During the launch, UnionBank showcased successful MSME clients while Marketing Entrepreneurship Mentor (and UnionBank independent director) Josiah Go shared Innovation tips for the attendees and participated in a fireside chat with seasoned entrepreneurs, Mr. Jorge Wieneke & Ms. Nene Tamayo-Plamio in a program hosted by Ms Lia Cruz.
     According to UnionBank Institutional Segment Marketing Head Dino Velasco, the new name was the result of a survey and collaboration efforts conducted among business owners and the Bank's existing MSME clients with the goal of assessing their sentiments regarding potential enhancements to the app's name. The survey findings revealed a strong preference for the name  due to its simplicity and relatability.
    “Compared to MSME Business Banking, the new 'UB Negosyante' brand is more relatable, easy to understand, and more inclusive. That was the intent behind the rebranding,” Velasco said.
    “SMEs face so many challenges due to various pain points which can be discouraging to them. We wanted to address those pain points, so we put together a single user experience through the UB Negosyante app that will address those pain points, may they be related to collection, reconciliation, disbursement, just to name a few,” said UnionBank Business Banking Head Jaypee Soliman.
    To support the new solution, UnionBank also launched the "Powered UP" campaign, which will promote all the features of the new solution and how they can benefit entrepreneurs, as well as provide tips and best practices that will aid them in their entrepreneurial journey.
    The campaign is a revitalized version of the Bank's “Power to Grow” #WalangMaliitNaBusiness campaign launched in 2022. Its goal then as it is now, is to inspire MSMEs and help them with their business growth, while at the same time, make them aware that UnionBank is with them as a partner every step of the way.
    Among the tools available with the rebranded UB Negosyante is the improved mobile app, a fully-featured mobile application that allows SMEs to transfer funds, pay bills, collect payments, and deposit checks on the go. It comes with BizStarter, a basic checking account that requires a low opening and maintaining balance of just P5,000.

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Entrepreneur ‘hybrid-sells’ with help of fiber broadband

Converge’s BIDA out

By Rizza C. Ampong

The post-pandemic environment demands flexibility and adaptability from everyone but most especially entrepreneurs who are slowly recovering from the pandemic slump. One online Facebook seller is employing her business acumen not just in the virtual marketplace but in real life, as she does “hybrid selling” of her consumer goods.
    Rogelia Dasco, a Cebu-based homemaker who buys and sells imported goods from the US, does her trade mostly online.
    “The items, like lotions and perfumes, are from the US. My sister sends them, I take a picture of them, and I post them on Facebook Marketplace,” she shares.
    However, unlike most online sellers, she doesn’t stop in the virtual world; When she gets to her buyer’s address, she then goes house to house in the community. The strategy pays off - she is able to sell out her goods in one afternoon instead of waiting for online sellers to finish off her inventory.
    “When someone buys from me, for example, I go to their house but I bring my other items too. After I deliver to the buyer, I go to the neighbors and offer my other goods. Right now, I’m all sold out. The next shipment will come at the end of the month,” Dasco proudly says.
    Supporting this diligent hybrid approach is BIDA fiber, the new mass market offering of Converge targeting the lower C and D income classes.
    BIDA fiber is the most affordable postpaid broadband plan in the market today, and the cost savings makes a difference for smaller entrepreneurs.
    “It’s so affordable and I’m able to save too. My old plan was priced at P 1,299 with an additional P 200 every month so that’s P 1,499. With BIDA, I’m able to save more than P 500,” said Rogelia Dasco.
    The reliable connection - that can go up to 35 Mbps - also makes sure Rogelia keeps her ties with her supplier sister strong as every night they call each other through video. Even with a 3-hour video call, her husband watching YouTube videos, and her son playing Mobile Legends with friends at home, Rogelia’s connection never falters.
    “I’ve really maximized my connection. It’s really good, even if we all use the internet at the same time,” she added.
 

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Converge boosts MSMEs, start-ups in capital-raising

SEC roadshow 

By Rizza C. Ampong

BAGUIO CITY -- Converge ICT Solutions Inc., the fastest growing broadband operator in the Philippines, joined hands with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in encouraging small-scale businesses and start-ups to access the capital market to address their financing needs. 
    In the Baguio leg of the SEC’s roadshow on capital formation for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and start-ups, the SEC encouraged business owners to secure funding through capital market-based services such as public offering, crowdfunding, and private placements, among others.
    Converge Vice President and Head of Investor Relations Owen Kieffer Ocampo inspired local entrepreneurs by sharing how Converge accelerated business growth by offering shares to the public, highlighting the boosts gained by the company when it braved the pandemic crisis and had its initial public offering (IPO) in October 2020.
     “A lot of work goes into conducting the IPO but the long-term benefits definitely compensate for it. First, you will have access to lower cost of capital, and you will have the capability to accelerate growth with the funding generated in your IPO,” he said. 
    Converge raised P25.3 billion ($523 million) in one of the country's largest recent IPOs at that time. Leveraging these funds, together with its other sources of capital, Converge was able to expand its infrastructure from around 3.5 million ports in 2020 to 8.7 million ports nationwide – currently the most extensive in the country. More significantly, Converge earned the name of being a nationwide company - extending its fiber backbone from Luzon to major islands in Visayas and Mindanao - through the major capital infusion provided by the IPO. 
     “In just two years from the IPO, we were able to expand our network nationwide to serve underserved and unserved areas in VisMin. We have also doubled our port count and we are now focused on utilizing these assets to serve the unserved and underserved,” Ocampo added. 
    Aside from connecting households, Converge has also been uplifting the MSME sector as part of its vision to empower the nation to be its best. Through Converge Business, the company enables small businesses through innovative connectivity products such as flexiBIZ; it empowers medium and large enterprises with value-added services such as Converge Workplace solutions like SweldoMo, and the Hotel Management software. For all sizes of businesses, Converge also offers device solutions, for better business productivity.
    Meanwhile, SEC Market and Securities Regulation Director Vicente Graciano Felizmenio Jr. said there is an estimated $220 billion credit gap for MSMEs in the country, based on a report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and International Finance Corporation (IFC).
    This was despite their substantial contributions to the economy, making up 99.5 % of local businesses, and accounting for 63% of the local workforce and 40% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). 
     “We want to show MSMEs and start-ups that there are other sources of financing that they could tap and it is the capital market. We want them to grow as a business so we present to them the options and they make the decision,” he said. 
    Through the Office for the Advancement of Strategic Investments in SMEs (OASIS), the regulatory commission promotes alternative financing options for small-scale enterprises and start-ups, helping them secure financing through the capital market. 
 

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SEC roadshow hopes to link MSMEs to funders

SUPPORT TO MSMEs. Commissioner Karlo Bello of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday (Oct. 13, 2023) said the agency is moving to different regions to bring services closer to the people by pushing forward the thrust towards financial inclusion. The SEC roadshow on capital formation for micro, small and medium enterprises and startups aims to link small businesses to possible funders that will allow former to grow. (PNA photo by Liza T. Agoot)

By Liza Agoot

BAGUIO CITY – Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have options for business ventures and sources of capital through the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) crowdfunding system. 
    Vicente Graciano Felizmenio Jr., Markets and Securities Regulation Department director, said small businesses face numerous challenges such as credit constraints, use of formal credits, and lack of access to formal fund sources.
     “The law mandates us as a regulatory body but the law creating us also made us develop a capital market that allows us to assist the MSMEs,” he said during the SEC roadshow on capital formation and MSMEs and start-up businesses in a hotel here Friday.
    He said results of a 2020 SEC survey showed that 99.5 percent of businesses in the country are composed of MSMEs, which hire 63 percent of the local workforce, thus contributing at least 40 percent to the country’s gross domestic product. 
    “You are the savior of the economy. You contribute a lot even if you are also hard up in your finances,” he told about 140 MSME participants from different provinces in the Cordillera Administrative Region, as well as from Regions 1 (Ilocos Region), 2 (Cagayan Valley) and 3 (Central Luzon).
    Felizmenio said SEC’s crowd-funding system operates in such a way that MSMEs open themselves to their needs for funding and the intermediary will link them to possible funders that might get interested in what they do. 
    He explained that while MSME registration to the SEC is not a requirement to be assisted under the crowdfunding system, the funders will ask for profiles and other information. That is where the registration with the SEC will come in. 
     “Funders know that a small business has the potential to grow big because large corporations started small. They may help fund small or start-up businesses,” the official said. 

He shared the story of the grilled chicken food chain Mang Inasal, which was established by a small businessman from Negros but was bought by fastfood giant Jollibee Foods Corporation. 

 “The owner retained a portion of the stocks and he is now a business partner of one of the largest food chain companies. There are other stories like that, small but was given the chance to grow through funders for development and growth,” Felizmenio said. 

SEC has also amended the implementing rules and regulations of the Securities Regulation Code to include registered funding portals in the list of authorized registrars, provided they have applied and complied with the registration requirements.

Whereas only traditional financial intermediaries were previously authorized to act as registrars, an authorized registrar would no longer need crowdfunding intermediaries and funding portals to assist potential investors with their application as qualified buyers.

SEC-CAR regional director Regina May Cajucom, in a press conference on the sidelines of the roadshow, said there are about 500 MSMEs in the region that are registered with them as regular corporations while around 150 are registered as one-person corporation. 

She said SEC sees possible ventures in agriculture and farm training centers, especially with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s thrust on food security. 

The officials hope that agriculture-focused MSMEs would look for potential investors to establish cold storage facilities that will help ensure food security.

The roadshow started in Davao in the first quarter of the year and has been to Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga, Bacolod, Iloilo, and Metro Manila. (PNA)

 

 

 

 

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Farmers’ café opens at Ibaloi garden in Burnham Park

By Jessa Mardy P. Samidan

BAGUIO CITY – Tourists and folks of this summer capital can now have something to look forward to while visiting Burnham Park.

    Tinapong Shia Onjon, a microenterprise café operated and managed by the Baguio City Farmers Agriculture Cooperative (BCFAC) in partnership with Onjon Ni Ibaloi, Inc., is now open to serve locally grown Arabica coffee.
    The coffee stall opened last Sept. 18 at Onjon Ni Ibaloi Heritage Garden in Burnham Park.
    Marcelina Tabelin, Senior Agriculturist of the City Veterinary and Agriculture Office (CVAO) said that Tinapong Shia Onjon is one of microenterprises developed through the Coffee Processing Shared Service Facilities (SSF) project funded by the     Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in partnership with the City Government of Baguio in 2021.
    The DTI-SSF Project is a private-public partnership that provides micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with machinery, equipment, tools, systems, skills and knowledge under a shared system.
    She considers the opening of the café as a milestone unlocked for the BCFAC, the umbrella cooperative catering to at least 15 farmer groups and associations in the city with over 450 memberships to date.
    “The outcomes of the Business Plan/Proposal prepared and presented to DTI 3 years ago are starting to be realized. These outcomes include microenterprise development and employment generation,” Tabelin shared.
    She furthered that CVAO being the lead coordinator for the urban agribusiness ventures may not be implementing big ticket projects with multi-million budgets but through community organizing and development, client-beneficiaries will hopefully realize a sustainable and impactful economic transformation.
    “We may undergo a tedious process and a longer duration but its fruit is rewarding. The impact of the project is being felt by the poorest members of the sector, which I think is more fulfilling than a multi-million project benefitting only few rich and influential people,” Tabelin added.
    Rod Paus, Onjon Ni Ibaloi president, expressed his support and presented the partnership engagement with the BCFAC through planting of coffee trees to ensure the availability of raw materials for the cafe.
    City Councilor Arthur Allad-iw who was present during the opening of the café encouraged the members of the cooperative to focus on the production and processing of Arabica coffee as it has distinct advantage over other coffee varieties grown in other coffee- producing parts of the country. He also reiterated the importance of cooperatives in livelihood development.
    At present, there are 15 farmer associations in the city being assisted by CVAO through programs, trainings and services as follows: BCFAC; Pinget Rural Improvement Club; Granjeros De Oeste Organizacion, Inc.; Irisan Rabbit Farmers’ Cooperative; Lucnab 4H Club/Young Farmers Association; Barangay Happy Hallow Farmers Organization; Ditep Farmers Association; Asin Road Binnadang Smith Association; Barangay Lucnab Agriculture and Fisheries Association; Loakan Apugan Livelihood Association; Bekes Ta-ang Farmers Association; San Andreas Strawberry Growers Association; Bilis Sto. Tomas Central Farmers Livelihood Association; Maria Basa Urban Gardeners Association; and, Bae-ngan Planters Association.
    Said farmer cooperatives and associations are located in barangays Irisan, Happy Hallow, Lucnab, Sto. Tomas Central, Pinget, Loakan Liwanang, Loakan Apugan, Camp 7, Pacdal, Bakakeng Central.
    Tabelin is hopeful for more agribusiness ventures for urban farmers in the city in the coming months and years as they continue to work in partnership with other government agencies for possible project linkages particularly with the Department of Agriculture, the Agriculture Training Institute, the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the DTI.
“It may have taken us a long time due to the coronavirus pandemic although community organizing and development really takes time because we are more focused on the process not the end result. Because we wanted transformation among the farmer-members to make their enterprise sustainable,” Tabelin said. – JMPS

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Cagayan products, goods showcased in China expo

By Jenica Faye Garcia

TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan -- The Dept. of Trade and Industry (DTI) Region 2, in partnership with the city government of Tuguegarao, showcased Cagayan Valley's micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) products and services in the China-Asean Expo (Caexpo) 2023.
    The DTI Region 2 said on Monday the inclusion of Cagayan MSMEs in the showcase was aimed at strengthening the region's MSME foreign exports and trade relations as part of their effort to enter Chinese market, other Asean countries and international businesses.
    "The Region 2's participation is geared towards penetrating the international market, bridging export and investment promotions, and strengthening foreign export and trade relation," the department said.
    Products included in the showcase were crop and fruit-based processed food snacks such as the Chichamatis or tomato chips of Lighthouse Cooperative, banana chip of One Asia Trade, others such as shrimp products of Dataj Aquafarm, and handwoven trendy bags made out of pandan leaves, among others.
    For Tuguegarao City Mayor Maila Ting-Que, the expo is an opportunity for the city's entrepreneurs to grow and expand their businesses.
    She urged businesses to invest in the city after it was featured as the "City of Charm" in the Philippines for showcasing its tourism potentials that are ideal for investment opportunities.
    "With this, we expect more visitors to come to Tuguegarao City to invest and also to experience our warm hospitality," she said.
    "Our city is excellent for forging partnerships to sustain our local economic development. We welcome big ticket investments that will generate employment and provide sustainable solutions in our city," she added.
    "Indeed, Tuguegarao City is doing its best in accompanying the business sector towards sustainable development. ... Invest in our city and we guarantee you that your investment will be seen, will be felt, and will be loved."
    Caexpo 2023 is being held in Nanning, China. It started on September 16 and will end on September 19. The Philippine delegation is led by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (Citem), the export promotions arm of the DTI.
Caexpo is an international economic and trade communication event that aims to bolster the China-Asean Free Trade Area.
 

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397 small biz firms get SBC no interest loans worth millions

BAGUIO CITY -- The Small Business Corporation (SBC) reported that some three hundred ninety seven micro and small businesses in the city were able to avail of zero interest loans under the Baguio’s Revitalization Action for a Vibrant Economy – Economic Stimulus Package (BRAVE-ESP) from 2020 up to July 20, 2023.
    In her report during the quarterly meeting of the Baguio city Small and Medium Enterprise development Council held at the conference room of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Baguio-Benguet Provincial Office recently, SBC representative Julie Ann Castaneda said that of the total approved loan applications that were endorsed to the City Treasury Office for the release of their applied loans, 324 were micro enterprises while 73 were small businesses.
    The SBC official claimed that the approved amount of loans that were released to applicants amount to around P20.5 million chargeable against the funds that were earlier earmarked by the local government under the BRAVE-ESP.
    Earlier, the SBC received some 528 applications for loan under the said program where 131 applications were either denied or withdrawn.
    The SBC is the financial arm of the DTI that is providing soft loans to various businesses that want to avail of the same to be able to sustain the operations of their enterprises.

She explained that among the reasons for the denial of the loan application of businesses include their alleged failure to produce documents of their businesses, the negative findings of the credit investigation and their inability to show the sustainability of their businesses under their financial statements.

Castaneda added that there are three processes being conducted by the SBC prior to the approval of the loan applications such as the business information assessment, credit standing assessment and financial performance assessment to ascertain the sustainability of the businesses availing of the loans offered to interested businesses.

One of the major reasons for the denial of the loan applications of businesses is that they pass through third parties which are not actually allowed under the SBC’s rules and regulations. -- Dexter A. See

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DTI starts Ilocos Sur OTOP Hub for folks, entreps

VIGAN, Ilocos Sur – Dept. of Trade and Industry (DTI) Sec.y Fred Pascual led the launching of the One Ilocos Sur One Town-One Product (OTOP) Hub Aug. 13 at the sidelines of his trip in Ilocos to attend the Post-SONA Philippine Economic Briefing (PEB).
     "As the backbone of our economy, micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) play a vital role in shaping the Philippine economic landscape,” Pascual said in his speech. “They address poverty by generating employment opportunities. They serve as breeding grounds for budding entrepreneurs. These small enterprises spark development in rural areas."
    A thriving MSME sector, the DTI Secretary said, reflects a dynamic and progressive economy. The DTI works collaboratively with the private sector to assist MSMEs in product development, access to finance, market access, and quality control, among others.
    The One Ilocos Sur OTOP Hub is a new market platform for Ilocano OTOPreneurs.
It showcases products from two cities and 32 municipalities. It shows Ilocano creativity and resilience, especially amid the recent onslaught of typhoon Egay. The hub is a project of the DTI Ilocos Sur Provincial Office through the OTOP Next Gen Program, in collaboration with the Provincial Government of Ilocos Sur.
    "As the product landscape continues to evolve, bolstering market access becomes increasingly imperative. And the OTOP Philippines Hub has emerged as an adaptive and versatile platform that effectively addresses this critical need. Thus, the traditional pasalubong centers transform into vibrant spaces that go beyond mere product display," Pascual said.
    During the launching, Secretary Pascual also signed a memorandum of agreement with Gov. Jeremias V. Singson to establish the One Ilocos Sur OTOP Hub within the Provincial Farmers Livelihood Development Center located in Vigan, free of charge.
    Pascual assured Ilocano MSMEs the DTI will continue to provide both capacity building and financial assistance through its financing arm—Small Business Corporation (SBCorp), especially to victims of typhoon Egay and other disasters.
The main cooperator for the One Ilocos Sur OTOP Hub is the Ilocos Sur Export Enterprises Distribution Marketing Cooperative (ISEED).

It also features 46 exhibitors or MSMEs from Ilocos Sur that the OTOP Hub is assisting. 

 

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IP midwife’s sweet business success

Entrepreneurship

MOUNTAIN WINE -- Carmelita Cabradilla-Abnasan flexes her best-selling Bugnay wine among other fruit wines at the International Trade Expo held last May 24-26, 2023 in Manila. She is set to join another international trade fair in Bangladesh this month. (Contributed Photo)  

By Leilanie Adriano 

LAOAG CITY – At 53, Carmelita Cabradilla-Abnasan looks forward to traveling around the world with her babies--Cardoms’ Mountain Wines--now available in 26 fruit wine varieties which are all locally sourced from her hometown in Adams, Ilocos Norte.
    Abnasan opted to retire early as a municipal midwife in 2021 to focus on her growing winery and expanding agro-tourism business.
    Together with her husband Dominador, where their business name “Cardom" was coined, Cardom’s artisan fruit wines along with cacao and coffee byproducts are set to conquer the world following its "sold out" sale during its first participation in the International Food Expo last May 24-26, 2023 at the World Trade Center in Manila.
    By the end week of July, she is set to join another international trade fair in Bangladesh for five days.
    As one of the pioneering graduates of the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Kapatid Mentor Me (KMME) program, Abnasan thanked the various government agencies, particularly the DTI for boosting her confidence in expanding her business.
    “The KMME program is instrumental in the improvement of my business expansion. After graduating from the program, sales soared and wonderful opportunities kept knocking in,” she said in an interview on Monday.
    Born to an Igorot mother in Bauko, Mountain province, and an Ilocano father from Ilocos Sur, Abnasan found her home and fortune in Adams town after she perfected a wine-making formula she inherited from village elders in the Mountain Province.
    To date, Cardom’s mountain wine is now a byword in the local wine industry as it is one of the most sought-after products during special occasions or for corporate giveaways.
    According to Abnasan, the high demand for their products here and abroad opens more doors of opportunities to her fellow wine-makers and fruit tree plantation owners.
    This prompted her to expand her farm and further developed it as an agro-tourism site to cater to a growing number of visitors in a paradise-like Adams.
    From an average 100 jars of local wine production a year, her production this year has more than doubled.
    Each jar contains 2,000 milliliter (ml) or 25 bottles’ worth of wine sold wholesale at a minimum of P140 per bottle with an ordinary cap and P350 for a bottle with cork.
    Abnasan estimates around 80 percent return on investment for every bottle of wine that she makes.
    From a small capital of P10,000 when she started her wine-making business in 2002, Abnasan has earned enough to be able to buy idle lands in her municipality, which she is now developing into fruit tree plantations so that she may no longer need to go to other provinces such as in Cagayan to buy raw fruits needed in the wine-making business.
    With the help of her husband, a former overseas worker who prefers to work on the sidelines, Abnasan always wears a smile the moment you visit her farm and the local winery.
    Because like an aging wine, hers is a sweet success, fermented by passion and hard work to make the world a lot more fun, one bottle at a time. -- PNA
 

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3 Cordillera entreps feted at National MSME Summit

MSME LEADERS. Three micro-entrepreneurs in the Cordillera were cited by 'Go Negosyo' for inspiring small businesses during the National MSME Summit in Manila on Tuesday, July 18. They are Elvira D. Dupli of Y-Kalinga Tapis Handloom Woven Products based in Tabuk City; Di Anne P. Mendoza of Breastfeeding Care Center of the North in Baguio City; and Dean Michael T. Cuanso of Watwatworld Creative Media and Accents and Petals in Benguet province. (Photo courtesy of DTI-CAR Facebook Page) 

By Liza Agoot 

BAGUIO CITY – Three business innovators from the Cordillera Administrative Region were cited during the National Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Summit in Manila on Tuesday. Recognized were Elvira D. Dupli of Y-Kalinga Tapis Handloom Woven Products based in Tabuk City, Kalinga; Di Anne P. Mendoza of Breastfeeding Care Center of the North in Baguio City; and Dean Michael T. Cuanso of Watwatworld Creative Media and Accents and Petals in Benguet province.
    They were acknowledged for inspiring other Filipinos by joining the business sector as the most promising and inspirational micro-entrepreneurs.
    Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual, and “Go Negosyo” founder Joey Concepcion handed the award during the event.
    In a statement, Concepcion said the award seeks to acknowledge MSM entrepreneurs for their leadership role in their respective enterprises “which led to their success and for being an inspiration to other Filipinos in taking the route towards entrepreneurship.”
    The three were chosen from 200 MSMEs as the “Go Negosyo Most Inspiring MSMEs 2023 (micro category).
    The summit underscored the importance of empowering MSMEs by elevating their capabilities, enhancing their skills, and expanding their operations to thrive in a rapidly evolving business landscape.
    Anchored on the theme “Upgrade, Upskill, and Upsize MSMEs," at least 800 participants from the ranks of entrepreneurs, tech startups, academe, business experts, mentors, and enablers.
    In an interview, Juliet Lucas, director of the DTI in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), said July is being celebrated as MSME development month.
    She said the agency is currently assisting more than 20,000 MSMEs and farmers.
    Lucas added that training to enable MSMEs maintain online presence is also provided.
    “Online presence is important, especially with the changing buying behavior of people who utilize the internet in looking for items they need,” she said.
    Dolores Ortega of "Ortega’s Chocolate" in Conner Apayao said they had received assistance from the DTI, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in boosting their production and revenue.
    From being assisted to rejuvenate the old trees planted in the 1950s and simple processing using a crude system, the DA gave them a grinder for better processing.
    The DTI assisted her father with guidance under "Go Negosyo” while the DOST gave them processing, grinding and packaging equipment.
    Dolores said she took over the business from her father and is currently assisted through the DTI's “Kapatid Mentor Me” program, allowing her to join agro-industrial and trade fairs.
    “They (government agencies) are enablers because our limited resources do not suffice, we cannot do it if we are on our own,” Dolores said.  
    At present, the company's annual cacao beans harvest reaches up to a ton as it sells an average of 200 boxes with eight pieces of tablea chocolates to a cooperative in Tuguegarao every month. – PNA
 
 
 
 
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