3 agencies tie up to promote SMEs

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has inked a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Small Business Guarantee Finance Corp. (SBGFC) for the development and promotion of the country’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The agreement intends to create an environment conducive to the acquisition, financing and use of technology needed to upgrade the quality of SME products and services.

According to Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel Roxas II, the government is doing its best to help SMEs access appropriate technology.

He said: "We at government recognize that a way to make SMEs globally competitive is to upgrade their level of technology to world standards."

Roxas stressed this would improve the quality of the products and services of SMEs, adding that a technology upgrade would make local SMEs increase their levels of productivity making local products competitive in terms of pricing with their international counterparts.

The DTI will also assist in the information campaign needed to ensure that SMEs are made aware of the opportunity available to upgrade their technology.

The DOST, for its part, will provide SMEs the technical and technological intervention by undertaking technology needed for assessment of the enterprises and identifying appropriate technology for improving their productivity and the quality of their products to meet local and international standards.

The DOST is also tasked to evaluate and determine the feasibility off applying specific technologies to SMEs’ operation. Finally, the DOST will endorse to SBGFC funding applications of SMEs for technological acquisition and application purposes after ascertaining the technical and financial feasibility of the proposed projects.