GMA orders increased technical assistance to micro, SMEs

MANILA, Philippines – President Arroyo has ordered the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to increase its technical assistance to micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSME) to strengthen and expand the sector to create more jobs and livelihood opportunities.

Presidential Management Staff chief Secretary Cerge Remonde said “while efforts to whip up hysteria against the government were being waged in the streets,” the MSME Inter-Agency Coordinating Committee met last week to assess programs and projects for its over three million clients and beneficiaries.

“The President is urging us to accomplish more for the MSME sector,” Remonde said.

“With the empowerment of our SMEs (small and medium enterprises) and our people, each contributes more to our national wealth,” he said.

Remonde said Mrs. Arroyo directed the DOST to extend more of technical assistance and grants to MSMEs to make them more competitive and allow them to penetrate foreign markets.

Remonde claimed the MSME program is getting closer to its target of three million new jobs for 2004 to 2010.

More than 2.1 million new jobs, or almost 70 percent of the target, have already been generated through the program, with still two years to go, he said.

For the microfinance program, some P86.69 billion was released to 3.59 million microfinance clients from 2004 to 2007, generating 1.56 million new jobs, Remonde pointed out.

For SMEs, a total of P116.72 billion was released to 57,505 SME accounts supporting some 1.8 million jobs, 30 percent or about 540,000 of which are assumed as new jobs, Remonde said.

He said the DOST has the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP).

The DOST, Remonde said, “is a huge logistics and support facility for every aspiring entrepreneur.” Entrepreneurs can get from DOST all the assistance they will need, “mostly for free and under just one roof,” he said.

The DOST family is composed of two advisory bodies, the National Academy of Science and Technology and the National Research Council of the Philippines, with seven research and development institutes, five sectoral planning councils, six science and technology institutes, 16 regional offices, and 87 provincial offices, with four cluster areas.

During the inter-agency meeting last week, Dr. Teresita Fortuna of the DOST noted that in 2007, 811 firms were given direct technology transfer and commercialization support, while 77 other firms were helped indirectly.

About 27,000 new jobs were created, with productivity in the assisted companies improving by as much as 424 percent.

The Constitution mandates the State to “give priority to research and development, inventions, innovation, and their utilization.” DOST’s SETUP is one platform for promoting utilization of Filipino innovations and inventions, Remonde said.

Priority sectors for SETUP are processed food, metals and engineering, furniture, horticulture, aquatic and marine products, and natural fibers, GHD and fashion accessories.

The DOST interventions include technology upgrading and acquisition, technical training, packaging and labeling, testing and calibration, and technology consultancy.

Last year, SETUP provided testing and calibration services to 6,040 firms, helping them to generate income of P411.5 million. Packaging and labeling services were also provided to 465 firms which helped them increase their sales by P7.4 million and penetrate 147 new markets, Remonde said.

Technology training, and technology clinics were provided to 4,288 firms.

Other services for SMEs included technology transfer, contract research, technical training and assistance, testing and technical needs assessment and technology business incubator were also given.