KORONADAL CITY, SOUTH COTABATO – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) – 12 Cotabato Satellite Office (CSO) has recently conducted an Assessment, Consultation and Triage (ACT) Session under its One Town, One Product Next Generation (OTOP Next Gen) program that was participated by twenty seven (27) micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in their area of jurisdiction held at Cotabato City and Midsayap, North Cotabato, respectively.
The ACT session, the first phase of the OTOP Next Gen, is a two-day event organized by the said satellite office where selected MSMEs from Cotabato City and the First District of Cotabato Province have gathered for their products to be assessed by food quality experts, branding consultant, and designers to eventually form part as DTI-12’s improved/developed pasalubong products.
OTOP Philippines is a priority stimulus program for MSMEs as government’s customized intervention to drive inclusive local economic growth.
The program has two major components: the supply side and demand side. The OTOP Next Gen as the supply side of the program offers package of assistance to capacitate MSMEs with the goal of leveling up their products in the areas of design, quality, volume, among others.
After capacitating the MSMEs comes the market side of the program which is the OTOP Philippines Hub that will provide physical online channels and market access platform to OTOP products.
Products of participating MSMEs are showcase of the right natural bounty of the area ranging from roasted coffee and peanuts, fruit jams, marinated and processed fish products and many more.
The conduct of Cotabato Satellite Office’s ACT Session for Food MSMEs last October 7-9, 2020 marks the last leg of DTI-12’s ACT session for Food MSMEs. It was noted that this ACT goes beyond the usual, as they were able to link as well packaging suppliers to the participating MSMEs. –END
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43 mentees from Quezon and Cavite graduate DTI 4-A’s KMME-MME program
Forty-three (43) micro, small, and medium enterprises from the provinces of Quezon and Cavite graduated under the Online KAPATID Mentor Me-Money and Market Encounter (KMME-MME) Program of the Department of Trade and Industry Region 4-A, in partnership with the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship-Go Negosyo, on 13 October 2020.
Launched on 4 August 2020, the mentees completed the 10-module program, Government Services Forum, and presented their Business Improvement Plan (BIP) on 7-9 October 2020 to the panelists composed of the government sector, certified mentors, business sector, and financial partners. The mentees were graded based on the effectiveness of their presentation such as the organization, flow, time, and effectiveness to response to audience questions and comments, including their application of learning from the modules such as market opportunity, competitive advantage, management capability, financial understanding, and innovation.
“We are now having online graduations for our KMME-MME program nationwide, and this is part of going digital as the New Normal during the pandemic. It is very important that we always think out of the box in these times of crisis, so we are very happy to have our first batch of graduates this year in the CALABARZON region. This shows the determination of our MSMEs and their passion to reboot their businesses to survive the pandemic. There’s always a way, and we do it the right way,” said DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez in his video message.
Presidential Adviser (PA) for Entrepreneurship and PCE-Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion in his video message mentioned that they carefully choose business experts as mentors to provide the mentees high-quality education about the aspects of business for free. On the other hand, PCE Adviser Merly Cruz congratulated the mentees for being resilient and recognized the hard work and effort they exerted to be able to finish the program.
“Sa panahon na halos tumigil ang mundo kasama ang aming mga negosyo, naging kaagapay naming mga mentees ang bawat isa at ang KMME-MME program. Maraming salamat sa DTI dahil sa panahon ngayon, ito ang kailangan naming mga negosyante. We thank the DTI for showing us a light of hope,” said Weira Blanca Mortilla, owner of M&M Yema Cake and Pasalubong.
“Through the KMME-MME program, we learned to recreate our brand and our business, to innovate and give more value in our business, to be more passionate in what we do to grow our business, and most of all, to rise up amidst adversity,” added Mortilla.
DTI CALABARZON Director Marilou Toledo expressed her happiness and excitement to the graduates. She assured them that DTI’s intervention does not end from the program, as there will be more wonderful opportunities that await the mentees.
To survive and thrive amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a blended KMME-MME program for the New Normal is developed as a practical delivery mechanism for the same mentorship modules for the micro, small, and medium enterprises. The program addresses the urgent need for the continued access of mentees to Money, Market, and Mentorship (3Ms). END
