Monday, July 07, 2008 Chamber opens Smed Week By Joy Romares-Sevilla
THE Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (DCCCII) formally opened the SME Development Week celebration at the NCCC Mall in Matina, Davao City Monday.
The regional office of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-Southern Mindanao, which serves as the secretariat of the Smed Council, announced that several activities are lined up for the weeklong business event. Awards will also be given to selected small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the city.
"The intention of the event is to create awareness and to recognize the contribution of SMEs to the economic development," Teolulo Pasawa, DTI-Davao provincial director, said in last week's interview.
A series of fora, trade fairs, and exhibits will also be conducted during the weeklong celebration of the event.
On the other hand, Simeon Marfori, head of the Smed Council and president of the DCCCII, said earlier that the celebration will not only highlight the launching of the Philippine Enterprise Competition for Students, but a new award will also be given this year -- the Young Entrepreneur Award.
He said the Philippine Enterprise Competition for Students is focused on the information and communication technology (ICT) technopreneurship program.
"Those schools who are offering technopreneurship courses can come up with rewards so that students will be encouraged," Marfori said.
Meanwhile, part of the Smed Week celebration is the conduct of a training, which aims to bring SMEs together to promote good manufacturing practices (GMP) and food safety among hotels and restaurants.
The training will be held at the University of Mindanao, Matina Campus on Tuesday at 1 to 5 p.m. It is entitled as "A Guide to Food Safety for Hotels and Restaurants."
"Nutrition and food safety are two vitally important issues that affect all of us. Many countries throughout the world are increasingly interdependent on the availability of their food supply and on its safety," Marfori said.
