MICRO, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have huge potentials, especially in terms of creating jobs and opening more opportunities for Filipinos, President Benigno S. Aquino III said on Tuesday.
Speaking at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Small and Medium Enterprises Summit held at the Green Sun Hotel in Makati City, President Aquino noted that since the country’s “strongest competitive advantage” and “most important resource” is its people, the government invested massive funds into health, education, and other social services, empowering them to participate more fully in economic growth.
“Of course, if we are investing in their potential and in their abilities, then why should we not invest in their dreams as well? In 2013, micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) comprised over 99 percent of all business enterprises in the Philippines and account for 63.7 percent of total employment,” he said.
“These statistics alone would be reason enough for government to support the sector, but we see far beyond the numbers. For us, these statistics represent Filipinos opening doors of opportunity for so many other Filipinos,” he added.
The government, he said, has carried out several initiatives to strengthen SMEs in the country.
Through the Access of Small Enterprises to Sound Lending Opportunities, more than P153.1 billion has been released to more than 174,000 enterprises from 2010 to 2014, he said.
He further said that by requiring banks to allocate 10 percent of their total loan portfolio for credit to MSMEs, more than P427 billion has been lent to Filipino entrepreneurs as of last June.
“We want to ensure that they do not just have access to capital—but that they are able to maximize it,” President Aquino said.
The Department of Trade and Industry has also pioneered the establishment of Shared Service Facilities, or common production centers for MSMEs. A total of 1,305 SSFs have been set up around the country as of September this year to meet the needs of different sectors.
The Chief Executive cited 13 MSMEs in Kalibo, Aklan, which are making use of 60 handlooms in an SSF to meet the high demand for abaca cloth products coming from France and the United States; and six MSMEs in Diffun, Quirino that have moved beyond producing gifts and souvenir-type products to producing fresh and dry vegetable noodles from squash and carrots through an SSF.
In Ifugao, more than 750 coffee growers are making use of an SSF with such equipment as coffee hullers and pulpers, allowing them to more than quadruple their production from 230 packs to nearly 1,000 packs a month.
Their market has expanded drastically, with sales increasing sixfold from P10,000 to P60,000 a month, the President reported.
The government also has an SME Roving Academy, which travels around the country, conducting training seminars in marketing, product development, and financing to help SMEs become more competitive.
The participation of private sector partners has helped realize the same kind of success in specific sectors, President Aquino said. PND
