The MSME Development Council (MSMED Council) chaired by Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual unveiled various initiatives including the launch of 2024 Presidential Awards for Outstanding MSMEs, the Philippine E-Commerce Platform (PEP), and the Digitalization of the One Town, One Product (OTOP) Philippines.
The initiatives were announced during the National MSME Summit 2023 on July 18 at The Manila Hotel, coinciding with the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Development Week celebration.
The 2024 Presidential Awards for Outstanding MSMEs will recognize enterprises that have consistently shown remarkable achievements in business management and financial performance. The awarding ceremony is set to take place during the National MSME Summit 2024.
The Philippine E-Commerce Platform (PEP), on the other hand, is the first government omnichannel platform created to promote Filipino businesses and help them expand online. PEP prioritizes Filipino products and onboards businesses officially registered with DTI and other agencies, adding another layer of consumer protection. It also grants buyers access to a wider range of locally-made products by leveraging public sector initiatives such as Go Lokal. PEP is integrated with the eGov Super App, a platform for all Philippine government services.
To further promote MSME digitalization, DTI partnered with SOMAGO to provide One Town, One Product Philippines (OTOP)-assisted MSMEs with a new-fangled online store that is locally based in the Philippines and was founded in 2021. SOMAGO provides a safe, fun, easy, and unique one-stop e-commerce platform with a shopping marketplace and a variety of services including tour packages.
With the theme, “Upgrade, Upskill, and Upsize MSMEs,” this year’s Summit underscored the importance of empowering MSMEs by elevating their capabilities, enhancing their skills, and expanding their operations to thrive in a rapidly evolving business landscape. The event served as a valuable platform for knowledge exchange, collaboration, and inspiration, equipping MSMEs with tools, insights, and connections necessary to thrive in the dynamic and challenging business environment.
“In the Philippines, MSMEs are not merely businesses. They are the bedrock of our economy. It is the Filipino MSMEs who keep our economy vibrant, diverse, and inclusive. Our MSMEs offer opportunities to our communities, enrich our local culture, foster innovation, and enable equitable economic growth.” DTI Secretary and MSMED Council Chair Alfredo Pascual said.
The Summit also featured the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)’s initiatives on Standard Business Loan Application Form (SBLAF) and Credit Risk Database (CRD) Project. SBLAF aims to streamline the loan application process and make it more borrower-friendly for MSMEs while the CRD Project aims to enhance access to credit for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which involves the development of a statistical scoring model that can enhance a bank’s SME credit assessment toolkit for risk-based lending that may reduce dependence on collateral, improve loan pricing, and ultimately support access to finance of SMEs.
Further, the MSME Resilience Core Group (RCG)’s publication titled “From Surviving to Thriving: Introducing the MSME Guide to Disaster Resilience” was launched during the Summit. This guidebook provides checklists, guide questions, and tools that will help MSMEs assess business risks and make necessary preparations to ensure business continuity during times of disaster or emergencies. It also offers guidance on how to swiftly recover from crises that businesses may encounter.
Awardees of DTI-Small Business Corporation (SB Corp.) MSME Asenso Awards and Go Negosyo Inspiring MSME Awards were also recognized during the Summit.
