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Monday, March 14, 2005
Cebu exporters, SMEs to get help from Cida
FURNITURE makers, exporters and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will get help on productivity enhancement and marketing activities, among others, with funds from the Canadian International Development Agency (Cida).
To promote SME development and job creation in the Visayas, the Cida, through its Private Enterprise Accelerated Resource Linkages (Pearl) 2 project, inked memoranda of agreement (MOA) with four Philippine groups.
These are the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), Cite Technical Institute Inc., Central Visayas Information Sharing Network (Cvisnet) Foundation Inc., and the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (MCCI).
“Canada allots P1 billion a year for various development projects in the Philippines,” Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines Peter Sutherland said during the MOA signing at the Casino Español de Cebu last Thursday.
The PBSP initiated the Project i.Build Cebu Furniture, a P6.7-million project designed to address the needs of the furniture subcontractors in Metro Cebu.
Pearl 2 will grant support of P2.5 million, while PBSP will take care of the counterpart funding of P4.2 million.
A 17-month project, it complements the efforts of the Cebu furniture industry in strengthening and making itself more competitive in the world market, said Nelia Navarro, Provincial Director of the Department of Trade and Industry Cebu.
“The project will help furniture subcontractors have access to technical experts and work together to improve efficiency in delivery of products and improve product quality,” said John Domingo, chairman of the Visayas Regional Board of the PBSP.
ISO accreditation
Cite Technical Institute Inc. also signed a MOA with the Cida for its Competency Upgrading and ISO/IEC 17025 Accreditation of Electrical Calibration Laboratory for Central Visayas project.
With a duration of 18 months, the project has a cost of P4.09 million, with Pearl 2 providing P2.136 million of that amount and Cite, the counterpart of P1.95 million.
The project will allow the Cite Electrical Standards and Testing Laboratory to pass ISO 17025 Accreditation for Calibration of Electrical and Electronic Test instruments. It will also train and certify the personnel and technical staff of the Cite laboratory.
The project will improve the business performance of the export and manufacturing sectors in the Visayas and Mindanao through reduced turnaround times and transport-related risks of sending electrical instruments for calibration to Manila.
Internet-based
On the other hand, Cvisnet, in cooperation with the Department of Science and Technology 7, has the P2.5 million SME.Net: E-nabling Enterprises to Access the Global Market project.
The 12-month-long project entails the development of Internet-based infrastructure that encompasses the following: marketing platform for SMEs, a one-stop technology source of information, and an SME Technology Resource Center.
One major expected result of this project in Cebu province is an SME portal that will serve as a virtual office for the targeted SMEs where company and product information can easily be retrieved and maintained. SMEs’ frequently asked questions would be answered with laws and links to government bodies, trade offices, chambers of commerce and business portals.
The Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry also launched its Chamber Development Program to establish a professionally managed organization responsive to the requirements of its members and the business sector in Mandaue City.
Pearl 2 provided a grant of P2.37 million for the P6-million program.
“We want to expand and help local executives create jobs so young people won’t have to migrate to other cities to find one. Our programs complement President Arroyo’s six million job target in six years,” said Sutherland after the signing.
On the prospects for investments in Cebu, he said: “We already have three Canadian call centers in Luzon. Definitely, Cebu is the next place to put up a call center.” (Aurelia L. Castro)
(March 14, 2005 issue)
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