MSME-focused government programs were given the spotlight in the latest episode of Future Festival, a series of webinars and virtual conferences hosted by Shell Philippines where successful projects addressing mobility, communities and livelihood, STEM and youth, and energy take center stage.
Department of Science and Technology – Technology Application and Promotion Institute (DOST-TAPI) director Marion Ivy D. Decena presented the Technology Innovation for Commercialization (TECHNiCOM) program designed to provide developmental support to startups who have “commercially viable” innovations.
This support either comes in the form of funding or technical assistance, and boosts the market readiness of the developed innovations before they reach the commercialization stage. For nine years now, the program has raised over P179.4 million in financial support to the academe, technology startups, as well as research and development facilities nationwide.
“We are one of the first government institutions who believed in the capacity and potential of local startups or spin-offs in science and technology, and provided a wider coverage of assistance in their line-item budget, not only equipment acquisition but also personal services, and maintenance and other operating expenses,” she said.
For Department of Trade and Industry – Philippine Trade Training Center (DTI-PTTC) executive director Nelly Nita Dillera, enterprises can be transformed to become more competitive through programs that promote active upskilling and reskilling of the workforce.
Dillera cited the MSME certification program called Food Connect which educates food manufacturers with all the “gate-to-plate” processes in the food chain, the online learning platform Asean SME Academy, the Push Start incubation program, the Ascend training program, and a mobile-native online learning system called Payong.
“There’s a need for upskilling and reskilling our workforce. 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 with programs that are really relevant,” she added.
Since MSMEs face difficulties in adapting to the pace of technological disruption, Shell Philippines is taking a community approach with livelihood by integrating Filipino enterprises to a greater local economic system, opening their doors to more relevant markets, products and services, and even resources required for scaling.
“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,” explained Serge Bernal, Pilipinas Shell vice president for corporate relations.
From the private sector, financial institutions like UnionBank are giving access to same-day approval lending for MSMEs seeking capital, whether it’s for production, operations or expansion. UnionBank has already grown SeekCap’s partner MSMEs to over 50,000 nationwide and processed loans valued roughly at P3.5 billion to date.
“We are trying to solve inclusive financing. 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. SeekCap is a specific program from UnionBank that focuses on MSME lending,” shared Jaypee Soliman, Unionbank first vice president and head of SME and Microentrepreneurs.
During the first episode of the four-part Future Festival series, Shell Philippines gathered industry experts to discuss inadequacies in public transportation, infrastructure shortfalls, and outdated policies. Some of the solutions highlighted during the conference are anchored on urban planning, sustainability, and public safety.
