THE Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI) is pushing for upgrading the capabilities to compete of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Negros Occidental.
Frank Carbon, chief executive officer of MBCCI, said the chamber focuses on helping local businesses especially startups.
Carbon said MSMEs, at present, are “under attack of the giants” so they have to upgrade to be more competitive.
“One capability that should be upgraded is marketing. They have to learn how to market their products,” he said, “But marketing is not only promotion or selling your products, it’s also about product development.”
Carbon also said, “You have to have good a product to sell before you can market it so it can translate to sales.”
As measure to boost capabilities of local MSMEs, MBCCI will initiate a seminar on marketing trends at GT Hotel in Bacolod City today.
The one-day activity will gather women entrepreneurs, food processors, member-businesses of MBCCI, and enterprises it assisted.
It will underscore key points on general marketing trends, customers as marketers, social media marketing, and search marketing trends, native advertising, and technology in marketing, among others.
Carbon said that through the seminar, MSMEs will be introduced to “digitalization” particularly digital marketing and electronic commerce (e-commerce).
The business leader pointed out that if local entrepreneurs are not capable of competing digitally, they will be left behind.
“Once they are pushed to the side by the giants, MSMEs’ capacity to create more jobs will also weaken,” Carbon said, “Their capacity to create livelihood as well as increase and sustain income will also be limited.”
MBCCI said it welcomes giants or big businesses and investors to come in. But, it also wants local MSMEs to grow so they can expand and create more jobs.
Meaning, while the bigger ones are coming in, investing and creating jobs for Negrenses, the smaller enterprises are also helping.
“Our approach is inclusive market-oriented development,” Carbon said, adding that the business chamber continues to work on enabling small enterprises to become bigger ones.