THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) 7 disclosed it will soon craft a program designed to connect with social entrepreneurs to help them gain wider market access.
“The government should be visible in these types of enterprises and help them grow so they can contribute in attaining inclusive growth,” said Asteria Caberte, DTI 7 director, in an interview.
Social enterprises are wealth-creating and mission-driven organizations that engage in economic activities with the primary objective of reducing poverty. They are enterprises that are owned, managed and participated in by the poor and practice equitable wealth distribution or plow-back of profits to their communities.
Caberte said that DTI has a lot of support programs that can be used by social entrepreneurs, including assistance in organizational set-up, market linkage, product design, marketing assessment, and support in international trade fairs.
Homegrown brand’s support
She also underscored that financing isn’t the problem anymore for most entrepreneurs but the right market access.
“Microfinancing is already present. The challenge now could be more on the quality of the products we showcase to the world or the right market access,” she said.
In Cebu, DTI isn’t alone in helping social entrepreneurs find the right platform to market their produce. Homegrown brands like Bo’s Coffee have started to offer their outlets as the launching pad of many social enterprise products across the country.
The social enterprise (SE) sector in the Philippines is urging the government to push social entrepreneurship in the rural areas to create business and employment opportunities.
“Social enterprises can do more to contribute to poverty-reduction efforts in the countryside if we shape an environment conducive to its growth. The rural poor are engaged as workers, suppliers, clients or owners of SEs. More than providing jobs, SEs share the wealth they create with members and communities,” said Jay Bertram Lacsamana, Present Coalition co-convener and executive director of the Foundation for a Sustainable Society Inc. (FSSI), in a statement.
Lacsamana added the government should go beyond providing livelihood programs to communities and look at social entrepreneurship as a “sustainable means” for poverty reduction.
The organization is also pushing for the passage of a bill that seeks to mainstream social entrepreneurship in economic planning, provide tax incentives and exemptions, guarantee funds, non-collaterized loans, and an insurance system for social enterprises.
The provisions seek to promote adequate social services and employment and to raise the standard of living of millions of poor Filipinos.
The bill is awaiting its second reading in both houses of Congress, after being filed by Reps. Cresente Paez, Teddy Baguilat and Anthony Bravo in the Lower House and Sen. Bam Aquino in the senate.