INDUSTRY leaders have laid down their proposals for smaller businesses to face the barriers hindering their recovery and stability despite the economy’s recent reopening.
Their ideas centered on how the public and private sectors can engage the community and its people to solve the challenges and support the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which comprise 99.5 percent of the national economy and generate jobs to 62.4 percent or 5.5 million Filipinos.
“When communities are able to provide for and support their own needs, they promote an overall more robust national economy,” Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. Vice President for Corporate Relations Serge Bernal told reporters during their recent webinar dubbed “The Future of Livelihood: Multi-Sectoral Approach that Empowers Local Economies to Power Progress.”
“We aim to continuously create a positive and rippling change towards the future, starting with various initiatives that target the needs of the communities in the areas where we operate. We continue to encourage other institutions and enterprises to engage their immediate communities so that we welcome progress together,” he added.
Among the problems confronting the MSMEs is their difficulty in adapting to a tough and fast-paced environment. One way to solve this is to integrate them into the greater local economic ecosystem so they can have more access to relevant markets, products, services, and resources to scale their businesses.
The government, through the Department of Science and Technology-Technology Application and Promotion Institute (DOST-TAPI), makes this possible.
“From the conception of ideas to the protection of IPs (Intellectual Property); from the development of a prototype, to pilot production; and eventually, to commercialization and marketing, we have the necessary programs for our stakeholders to literally put their innovation in the market,” DOST-TAPI Director Atty. Marion Decena said, while citing their offering to commercialize the innovative technologies of MSMEs which is payable within three years sans interest.
Another obstacle faced by small businesses is the lack of and inaccessibility to financial products and services that needs urgent action, according to UnionBank First Vice President and SME and Microentrepreneurs Head Jaypee Soliman. He explained, “It’s being able to provide financing to the people who really need it the most with whatever available data they have. That’s a big problem, especially in the countryside.”
For Department of Trade and Industry-Philippine Trade Training Center (DTI-PTTC) Executive Director Nelly Nita Dillera, local entrepreneurs can also gain from the different capacity-building programs of national line agencies meant to make them competitive.
“There’s a need for upskilling and reskilling our workforce. ‘Agham na ramdam ng bayan,’” she pointed out. “We’re really networking and going to the regions just for us to get what the needs and gaps are, so we can respond to them (MSMEs) with programs that are really relevant.”
These initiatives include trainings to qualify MSMEs for certifications, such as Food Connect; programs to help shape and scale businesses like Asean SME Academy, Push Start, and ASCEND; and even projects aimed at protecting entrepreneurs from disasters and other uncertainties through PAYONG that is available in digital channel.
Upgrading the technical skills of budding entrepreneurs equips them to meet the customers’ changing needs and come up with innovative products and services that can elevate their competitive edge.
“[This is] from starting up to scaling up,” CBO Cofounder Katrina Chan said. Even if the country lacks the unicorns or start-up companies with a value of over $1 billion, she emphasized, “We do have ‘Qalabaws’ that are diligently getting the job done. The pandemic has shown us how quickly start-ups can adapt. We believe supporting start-ups is the key to recovery and creating an innovative and competitive country. It’s a great way to create jobs for people.”
Institutions can further support MSMEs in securing vital capital to bolster growth and expansion. Also, collaborative platforms like Shell’s Future Festival where leaders, advocates, and stakeholders have the avenues to welcome partnerships to fulfill the discussed ideas are also important.
“We are here to establish that trust. What we did in the beginning was create bridges and give access points,” Rags2Riches President and Founding Partner Reese Fernandez-Ruiz said of that collaborative process intended to help SMEs.
“A bridge (will) help them see what it’s like. We also have to see the perspective of who we are serving and who we are collaborating with.”
Public-private partnerships complemented by community support, according to Bernal, help energize a new generation of entrepreneurs who can build a long-lasting and brighter future for the nation.
“With the support from our government, the best practices from established enterprises, help from the private sector, and the vigor from Filipino communities will be important factors that help differentiate the economy we have now to the future we aspire to build,” he stressed.