THE Provincial Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Council is gearing up for the hosting of the first Negros Island Region (NIR) MSME Summit positioned to strengthen the public and private partnerships in the region.
Provincial MSMED Council chairman Mary Ann Colmenares Monday, May 8, said the activity, also initiated by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Negros Occidental, will be held at the SMX Convention Center in Bacolod City in July.
Colmenares said the council is set to further discuss the preparations for the summit, targeted to gather MSMEs in NIR and Western Visayas, during its quarterly meeting at the Negosyo Center in Bacolod City on May 11.
“We are still closely working with both public and private sectors in Western Visayas thus, we are going to involve them in the activity,” she said, adding that the council is also proposing to hold the summit back-to-back with the 2nd National Food Safety Congress.
The first NIR MSME Summit will mainly serve as point of convergence among industry stakeholders, especially entrepreneurs of the two regions, to work for further creating a business enabling environment.
The business enabling environment forms part of the outcome portfolio for MSMEs. Other components are productivity, efficiency, and access to market and finance.
Colmenares said the activity will underscore the cascading of various programs of the government which enterprises could avail as well as industry trends, sharing of best practices and development roadmaps for priority sectors, and developing linkages, among others.
During the summit, the council will also come up with a resolution urging concerned government agencies to implement programs that could empower MSMEs, Colmenares said.
“Stronger public-private sector collaborations will really result to better business enabling environment as efficiency and transparency especially on the delivery of government services are ensured,” Colmenares said.
The Provincial MSMED Council will also push for the harmonization of best practices among different priority sectors of every province in Negros and Western Visayas, she added.
The summit will also serve as a venue to echo the highlights of the recent “Prosperity for All” and 30th Association of Southeast Asian Nation summits in Metro Manila particularly on the promotion of inclusive growth amid the free trade agreement.