Trade department continues dev’t promotion of SMEs

ZAMBOANGA City – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is shifting this year its priority target in the conduct of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Caravan here in the region. This as the DTI in partnership with the different member-agencies of the Zamboanga Peninsula (ZAMPEN) SME Core Group, continues its mandate of developing and promoting Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the region through the SME Roving Academy (SMERA), or simply SME Caravan. Dr. Sitti Amina Jain, DTI regional director, said this year’s caravan is different from the previous ones as “it will now be held in the emerging growth centers in the provinces rather than in the cities.”

“For this year’s SME caravan, we want to reach more MSMEs in the rural areas. For the longest time, we are conducting this in the capital cities or areas in the region. This time though we want to further develop our MSMEs based in the emerging growth centers. We want our presence to be felt in rural areas where our services are all the more needed,” Jain said.  Jain said they have scheduled an eight-day caravan which will kick off July 2 and ends July 11 as part of the agency’s efforts in developing and promoting MSMEs. Jain said the caravan will kick-off in Barangay Ayala, this city on July 2-3, after which, the group will proceed to Liloy for the Zamboanga del Norte leg on July 6-7. She said the next stop will be in Molave, Zamboanga del Sur on July 8-9; and finally, in Kabasalan, Zamboanga Sibugay on July 10-11.

She said MSMEs should take advantage of the caravan as DTI has prepared trainings that would help in the development of their business. “We are encouraging our MSMEs to participate in the caravan. We have identified various trainings and seminars that will be very beneficial in their development. Best of all, our trainings are for free. We urge them to contact the nearest DTI offices in their area for their attendance,” she said.

She said the trainings and seminars include entrepreneurship trainings, financial management training, product pricing and costing, financing forum, and greening of value chain. She said there will be one-on-one consultations with the MSMES, and presentation of programs by the different SME Core members in support to MSME development and promotion aside from the trainings. She said there will also be product development during the caravan where MSMEs can get assistance in the packaging of their products to make it marketeady. pna