DOST: NegOcc firms can avail interest-free upgrading assistance

RECIPIENTS of the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SET UP) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) can avail of interest-free assistance from the agency, an official said.

Engineer Allan Francis Daraug, provincial director of DOST-Negros Occidental, on Wednesday, February 7, said the program provides financial assistance, not loan.

“This interest-free assistance will enable qualified firms to upgrade their production facilities thereby increasing productivity,” he added.

For this year, the DOST has allocated P18 million worth of SET UP fund which will cover seven firms, especially micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), in the province.

DOST-Negros Occidental is still accepting proposals from local enterprises this year. Deadline for submission is in June.

Priority sectors include furniture, processed food, metals and engineering, gifts, handicrafts and decors, agriculture and marine aquaculture, pharmaceuticals and health products, and information and communications technology.

The DOST categorizes enterprises according to asset size – micro if the asset is P3 million and below; P3 million to P15 million for small; and P15 million and above for medium scale enterprises.

However, the financial assistance will not depend on the scale, but on the need of the enterprise.

Under the SET UP, recipient-enterprises should have been existing for at least three years in the manufacturing industry authorized by the Department of Trade and Industry and with necessary permits from the local government unit.

The application process includes submission of audited financial statement and technology and project implementation sheet. Recipients will undergo technology needs assessment.

Qualified enterprises should also submit a quarterly report or project information sheet to determine if it has generated jobs and improved the product quality and sales.

In terms of payment, enterprises are given a one-year grace period before the start of payment within three years.

Daraug said the agency may pull out the equipment if the enterprise fails to pay and has no improvement in the business.

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