16 Cebu towns to get P73M for business development programs

• Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/business/2016/10/27/16-cebu-towns-get-p73m-business-development-programs-505915
• Thursday, October 27, 2016

By Katlene O. Cacho

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has set aside P73 million for business development programs of 16 municipalities in Cebu located inside the “Yolanda corridor” for next year.

Elias Tecson, DTI Cebu business development division chief, yesterday said that of the total amount, P10 million will be used to set up 11 more Negosyo Centers in the province; some P2.2 million to support livelihood programs; P9 million for retrofitting or for green business practices; and P53 million to deploy more Shared Service Facilities (SSF).

At present, there are about 32 SSF projects in Cebu and 12 Negosyo Centers.

The DTI reported that they have established 84 Negosyo Centers, assisting more than 116,000 clients and 55 shared service facilities (SSF) and fabrication laboratories that benefitted 90,247 micro entrepreneurs across the country during the first 100 days of President Rodrigo Duterte.

The SME Roving Academy project, on the other hand, has conducted 400 trainings, producing more than 14,000 trainees. Negosyo, Konsyumer, Atbp. activities and seminars benefited more than 8,000 participants.

Trade fairs and exhibit sales during the period also generated P18.48 million.

Aside from extending physical interventions, Tecson said the agency is also aggressive in giving out free entrepreneurship seminars to help aspiring entrepreneurs learn the basics of doing business.

He said the reason most businesses fail is because business owners, especially those micro and small enterprises, are not equipped with skills to run them or build businesses to last.

“Aspiring entrepreneurs should learn about personal entrepreneurial competencies,” he said.

The same seminar, according to Tecson, is also provided to overseas Filipino workers who wish to set up a business at home. Under a collaboration with Overseas Workers Welfare Association, OFWs are required to attend DTI’s entrepreneurship seminar before they can avail of or access the capital funding of up to P2 million from Land Bank of the Philippines.

Tecson said there are already several OFWs who attended DTI’s seminars.

One success story is an OFW from Alcantara who attended one of DTI’s entrepreneurship development seminars. Tecson said he left his land-based job in Saudi Arabia to open a business in Cebu. The former OFW is now a subcontractor for three export companies that are into handicraft production.