Sixteen micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Negros Occidental earned more than P400,000 during the 7th Negros Business Week held until Sunday at the fountain area of Robinsons Place in Bacolod City.
Frank Carbon, president of Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI), said that on top of income generated, the business week helped boost the participating entrepreneurs especially the micro and small ones by providing them links in accessing financial assistance.
Carbon said these enterprises that really need the help of big businesses and the government were to be linked to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (Set-Up).
Through Set-Up, micro and small enterprises can avail financial assistance of up to P2 million payable in three years without interest and collateral.
Earlier, Francis Allan Daraug, provincial director of DOST-Negros Occidental, said that their office continues to cater to interested local firms.
Qualified firms are those with an asset size of not more than P3 million for operation and production facility upgrading.
Daraug also said the recipient firms are given a five-month grace period before they start paying.
Meanwhile, this year’s business week themed “Strengthening our Micro, Small and Medium Size Businesses for More and Better Jobs” was initiated by MBCCI with assistance from the City of Bacolod and Province of Negros Occidental.
It also aimed at helping MSMEs promote and prosper their businesses by exposing their products to the public and creating connections to big distributors and larger market, Carbon said.