DTI holds 5-day trade fair

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is holding a five-day trade fair to give entrepreneurs an idea on how to market their product through good design and proper packaging.

In a statement, DTI Secretary Peter B. Favila underscored the importance of good design to push the growth of DTI’s revenue streams, especially consumer products like processed food and beverages, fashion, including home style and living.

"The innate creativity of the Filipinos can be an economic asset to differentiate RP products and services and elevate their value in the global market," Favila said.

The National Trade Fair 2007 is slated on March 14-18 at the Megatrade Halls 1-3 of SM Megamall.

Together with the Product Development and Design Center of the Philippines, the DTI will introduce over a thousand new designs during the show using local skills and abundant homegrown materials.

The Philippines ranked high among countries with the most number of entrepreneurs but a lot of the businesses are closing, said Ramon M. Lopez, executive director of the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship (PCE).

Quoting an on going study by UK-based academic research consortium Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), Lopez said out of the 40 developing countries surveyed, the Philippines was third in terms of having the most number of entrepreneurs. "There is a high level of entrepreneurial activity including microenterprise," Lopez said. Microenterprise includes peddlers and hawkers or businesses that are not able to create jobs for people other than the entrepreneur.

Unfortunately, Lopez said there are a lot of businesses which close shop. In terms of mortality rate for businesses, the Philippines was number 13.

The GEM survey measures the state of entrepreneurship in the country as well as benchmark the results with that of other countries.

In order to address this problem, Lopez said they are trying to teach entrepreneurs measures on how to differentiate their product. "Right now there is no differentiator." There is a need to innovate, he said. For instance, businessmen could improve on product design or provide better packaging. "They should find a new niche to reduce mortality," he stressed.

Lopez said most businessmen opt to enter the food industry because the sector has low barriers to entry. "It is easy to get into the food business and the capital needed is not big," he explained. Lopez said only eight percent are small and medium sized enterprises while 91 percent are microenterprises.

The Philippine SMEs account for 99.6 percent of the total number of establishments in the country, 60 percent of all exporters, and 70 percent of the labor force.