THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) 7 is eyeing to complete the turnover of 23 Shared Service Facilities (SSF) projects in Central Visayas in the second half of this year.
These SSFs worth P30.6 million will benefit some 2,656 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and will generate 605 jobs.
Cebu and Bohol will have eight SSFs each, while Negros Oriental and Siquijor will have four and three SSFs, respectively.
Of the region’s total SSF cost, Cebu will have a share of P13.3 million worth of SSF projects.
These cover the upgrading of the SSF for dairy processing, garments and other wearables production (embroidery), cassava chips and granules processing, cacao production post-harvest facilities for Lamac Multi-Purpose Cooperative; SSF for agri-herbal production with Pestales Agriculture Cooperative; upgrading of the SSF for the Fabrication Laboratory (FabLab) of the Cebu Technological University (CTU)-Tuburan Campus; upgrading of the SSF for handloom weaving of CTU Argao Campus; and upgrading and additional equipment for FabLab CTU-Danao Campus.
Most of Cebu’s SSF projects will be launched in September while two SSFs were already launched in Bohol and one each for Negros Oriental and Siquijor.
Cebu’s SSF alone targets to help 810 MSMEs aand generate 145 jobs.
Shared service facilitities
An SSF addresses the gaps and bottlenecks in the value chain of priority industry clusters by providing equipment for common use of MSMEs.
An SSF is typically given over for use to cooperatives, including farmers, small-scale food processors or other entities engaged in light industries to improve their productivity or add value to their output and help them increase their income and tap new markets.
Logistics problem
In the first half of this year, the DTI 7 was able to turn over four SSF projects with a total cost of P2,939,800, which benefited 850 MSMEs.
Meanwhile, DTI 7 Director Ma. Elena Arbon said the SSF turnover is facing logistical constraints due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“There are slight delays, but we are doing virtual turnovers. The challenge is in the delivery of the equipment because a lot are imported and the global supply chains are challenged now,” Arbon told Sunstar Cebu.
SSF projects turned over during the first half of this year were the Negros Food Innovation and Testing Center for the Negros Oriental State University in Dumaguete City; upgrading/expansion of SSF-FabLab UP Cebu; upgrading of garments production of the Lamac Multi-Purpose Cooperative; and the Siquijor Product Innovation Center in Siquijor State College. (JOB)