THE Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the largest business organization in the country, will set up the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship to serve as “incubator” for “start-up” businesses in the country.
In his meeting with DTI Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, PCCI President Benedicto Yujuico laid out his plans in the next two years of his presidency, one of which is the CIE, which will complement DTI’s Regional Inclusive Innovation Center.
“Innovation and Entrepreneurship are the core programs of my Presidency. It’s a personal advocacy because I’ve proven these concepts to be effective drivers not only in helping businesses grow, but also having an entire cycle of business development,” Yujuico said.
Yujuico added that PCCI will strengthen its partnership with government and other stakeholders to establish an innovation ecosystem that provides greater opportunity to businesses in the country. Essentially, the CIE will work to handhold and mentor start-ups across the country with potential to grow and become big.
Lopez expressed his support to Yujuico’s current thrust on innovation—particularly on the set-up CIE and looks forward to collaborate with PCCI in strengthening DTI’s Regional Inclusive Innovation Center.
Meanwhile, Yujuico also discussed with Lopez the effect of the coronavirus on the supply chain. PCCI Industry Committee Chairman Perry Ferrer said that although the industry is still experiencing a shortage of raw materials due to the slowdown of factory operations in China, he expressed appreciation that the issue on cargo has been addressed.
On Ease of Doing Business, DTI expressed interest to collaborate with PCCI, through the Anti-Red Tape Authority (Arta), in the search for Most Business Friendly LGUs—an award given by PCCI during its annual Philippine Business Conference. DTI Asec. Jean Pacheco also proposed to create a DTI-PCCI Technical Working Group on Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI).
PCCI and DTI also agreed to proceed with the rollout of the training program for MSMEs using the MSME guide to Disaster Resilience.
