THE Mindanao Trade Expo Foundation Incorporated (MTEFI) expects to generate P10 million in sales from the Mindanao Trade Expo (MTE) Christmas Bazaar on December 10 to 16 at Abreeza Mall, Davao City.
The Christmas Bazaar features 80 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that offer a variety of products ranging from food, handicrafts, furniture and fixtures, and apparel.
MTEFI president Rosevic Del Rosario-Cembrano said Monday, December 10, during the opening of the MTE Christmas Bazaar that the foundation has strengthened ties with the MSMEs.
“The organization has taken a more proactive role in MSME enhancement with more engagements on product development and community enhancement,” Cembrano said, adding that the trade expo has been a good medium in also envisioning the government’s goal of inclusive growth by empowering the MSMEs.
Meanwhile, Cembrano said the MSMEs in Mindanao are gaining recognition in other countries like China, Japan, and Korea.
“Indeed the spotlight is now on Mindanao. And given with this massive opportunity our MSMEs are now faced with the challenge to step up in their game to innovate,” Cembrano said.
Records from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in 2016 showed that MSMEs contributed almost 63.3 percent of the total jobs generated by all types of business establishments.
PSA also recorded a total of 915,726 business enterprises operating in the country, 99.57 percent of which are MSMEs. Of these, around 40,000 are located in Davao region.