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Saturday, August 05, 2006
Mandaue business group seeks to empower SMEs
Strengthening micro and small enterprises in Mandaue City is one of the main objectives of the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce Industry Inc. (MCCI).
This is why the chamber has worked with various agencies on pro-jects such as, Promoting Regional Opportunities for Enterprise and Livelihood (Propel) and I-build, which provide technical support to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
During a press conference last Thursday, MCCI trustee Jack Gaisano said SMEs play an integral role in the economic development of the country.
“This sector, when healthy, ensures not only economic growth but wide distribution of economic opportunities.
Contribute
“We should never discount (the fact) that SMEs, as they are called, contribute to employment, equitable growth, industry dispersal, balanced agro-industrial development, human resources development and use, value addition on local resources and indirect export,” he said.
Gaisano said that a survey by logistics solution giant UPS showed that Asian economic powers, such as China, Australia and India have rated the Philippines’ SMEs more competitive than their own.
He said the region’s perception of the competitiveness of Filipino SMEs have increased to 14 percent from last year’s 12 percent due to having qualified staff and information technology adoption.
However, the same sector was perceived to be inefficient in the area of supply chain, transportation, infrastructure and government support, Gaisano said.
Livelihood
MCCI vice president for internal affairs Romelinda Cruz-Garces said Propel is a joint project with the office of Sen. Francis Pangilinan.
It provides livelihood training to micro and small companies in Barangays Tabok, Kasuntingan and Maguikay in Mandaue City, said Cruz-Garces.
Ibuild, on the other hand, is a project with the Philippine Business for Social Progress. The program identifies and trains subcontractors of the food and furniture manufacturing industries in Mandaue on improving productivity.
After training, Cruz-Garces said MCCI will link the beneficiaries with MCCI member-companies that, as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR), can provide these micro and small companies financial assistance on their businesses.
“We encourage our members to fulfill their CSR,” she said.
The last step would be to encourage these micro and small companies, which are part of the informal sector of the economy, to register with the government. (JBN)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (August 5, 2006 issue)
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