THE new president of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) plans to initiate a training program for micro-entrepreneurs during his term.

CCCI president Samuel Chioson said most businesses in the country can be considered micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

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“We have to develop the micro-entrepreneurs and assist them on how to improve and grow their businesses. We plan to train them module by module until they will be ready to graduate into SMEs,” he said in a press conference yesterday.

Teresa Pono, CCCI executive director, explained that the chamber will be coordinating with the Cebu City Government in the identification, profiling and assessment of micro-entrepreneurs before deciding what type of training will be offered.

While the program will focus on training, CCCI will also study the opportunities and challenges in micro-entrepreneurship, like in micro-financing.

The program is among the training projects that Chioson plan to hold during his term to help the business sector cope with the global financial crisis.

He is also planning to implement an urban greening project to fight climate change and take advantage of the CCCI’s
international relations through more trade missions.

This year, the chamber is planning to hold trade missions in India, Israel and New Zealand to establish links with businesses in information technology, pharmaceuticals, textile, agribusiness, dairy and tourism, among others.

Chioson said a trade mission to Turkey would also bring benefits for local businesses because of the other country’s booming tourism, export and manufacturing industries.

Chioson also vowed to continue projects started by previous CCCI presidents. These projects include the “Touchstone for a Globally Competitive Cebu”—a benchmarking project that aims to establish realistic competitiveness criteria for Metro Cebu—and the Cebu Economic Advisory Group.

The chamber, under his leadership, will also continue traditional projects like the Cebu Business Month.

Chioson, Portugal’s honorary consul to Cebu and dean of the Cebu consular corps, is vice president and general manager of Cadiz Steel Corp. An alumnus of the University of San Carlos, he is a licensed civil engineer and has taken units in Business Management at the Asian Institute of Management.

He was elected CCCI president last April 4. His predecessor is Dr. Edward Gaisano of Vicsal Development Corp.