THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-Northern Mindanao is holding a two-day screening, assessment, and triage sessions of local products to prepare the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to go mainstream and display their products in Go Lokal stores nationwide.
The screening sessions started on Wednesday, June 21, at the Mallberry Suites along OsmeƱa Street, Cagayan de Oro City and will end Thursday, June 22.
Leon Flores III, program manager of DTI's One Town, One Product (Otop) said they are mapping the new generation of MSMEs, evaluate them, and provide assistance for them to be able to compete with national and international products.
"Para mag level up sila sa quality, design, prolonging the shelf-life, improving the taste, packaging, labeling, one of the biggest challenges labaw na ang packaging because we really have good products here but they don't invest in good design and packaging so natatalo tayo ng ibang products sa ibang bansa, so gansi ta," Flores said.
The Otop is a priority program of the government to promote entrepreneurship and create jobs, supports MSMEs to manufacture, offer, and market distinctive products or services through the use of indigenous raw materials and local skills and talents.
"We will study where and what the true challenges are, this data comes from experts, designers, for the businessmen here. We need to be able to level up, and the DTI region 10 (Northern Mindanao) will hire consultants, designers, who will help them in their product development for them to be prepared when we make their products mainstream," he said.
Go Lokal is a retail concept store showcasing quality and innovative Philippine products crafted, designed, and produced by the country's MSMEs.
Irwin Jayson Jamaca, said the store is DTI's marketing platform for the country's MSMEs to gain access to the lucrative local consumer market, and ultimately, to the global export market.
"What we did is holding a screening, assessment, and triage (SAT) session, pre-screen all the local products so that when they are already in our stores, they will represent the Northern Mindanao region, so we are here to help them make sure that the region only produces quality products," Jamaca said.
The Go Lokal stores are placed in malls and high-end hotels nationwide, so it is but appropriate to screen them before they will be placed in the limelight, Jamaca added.
Jamaca said the region has promising products that deserve recognition, what lacks, he said, is the product development.
Tita Perla Rubio, owner of the Malaybalay's Choice Craft, said through the DTI-Northern Mindanao's seminars, her team has learned to evolve and adopt the changes particularly in product branding and marketing.
"We started our business in 2004, and since then, I had the opportunity to introduce our product overseas, and they have a very good response," Rubio said.
"So far, we are already known in terms of woven products, but we also want to help those that just started," she said.
The products of Malaybalay's Choice Craft are in already displayed in malls and airports.