DTI to launch second run of e-commerce training

• Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/business/2017/04/03/dti-launch-second-run-e-commerce-training-534678
• Tuesday, April 4, 2017

By Katlene O. Cacho

SOME 40 mentees composed of small and medium enterprises and employees of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) have enrolled in the second run of the agency’s e-commerce mentorship program.

DTI Cebu Director Ma. Elena Arbon said the training will start on the third week of April and end on June. Of the total mentees, half are from Cebu while the rest are from Bohol, Negros Oriental and Siquijor.

Fourteen participants from food, furniture and home accessories, among others, were the first graduates of the program which was mentored by Janette Toral of Digital Filipino.

“It’s a successful program. We were able to meet our objective of stirring the interest of local MSMEs, as well as pushing them into the e-commerce space,” said Arbon.

DTI’s e-commerce and digital marketing mentoring program aims to usher in a new breed of businesses that will thrive in the innovation and digital economy and create an enabling environment that supports the growth of the number of SMEs doing digital marketing.

Arbon believes capacitating the MSMES with e-commerce technology and tools would make them competitive.

According to Hope Melgar, chief trade and industry development specialist of DTI Cebu, said 12 of the first batch have working websites and social media accounts. For the second batch, Melgar said some DTI employees will join the program to capacitate them so they could provide counseling to SMES at Negosyo Centers after.

The e-commerce mentoring program will essentially adopt a hands-on methodology wherein selected MSMEs will be guided through the various steps of setting up an e-commerce presence.

There will be 12 sessions that will be conducted over a six-week period. Participants will meet twice a week. Among the topics of the program include website creation, e-payment services and digital marketing.

The graduation of the second batch is slated on June 13.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is urging developing nations to integrate digital payments into their economies, which are keys to boosting e-commerce important for growth and development.

WTO director general Roberto Azevedo considered digital payments as entry points for financial inclusion.

“Technological advances, especially in mobile technology, have provided alternative solutions - and they have been advancing at a tremendous speed,” Azevedo said in a Philexport report. He noted developing countries can be at the forefront of new ideas and solutions.