DTI-6 launches SME Roving Academy July 15, 2013,Monday The Department of Trade and Industry Region 6 (DTI-6) has launched its Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Roving Academy Monday in rites held at the Days Hotel here. Director Jerry Clavesillas, officer-in-charge of the Bureau of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development (BMSMED), said the SME Roving Academy is a continuous learning program for the development of SMEs to become competitive in the domestic and international markets. Through the academy, the DTI can help SMEs integrate several strategies like business development services at the national and local levels, establish the Provincial, Regional and National Entrepreneurship Development Networks, and manage an inclusive promotion program. Clavesillas said the SMEs will undergo seven learning stages - Stage 1: start-up and capability building stage, Stage 2: market awareness, Stage 3: market readiness, Stage 4: export readiness, Stage 5: export market entry, Stage 6: export sustainability, and Stage 7: export readiness. He said, however, that not all SMEs will undergo all the seven stages because some of them have all ready started or established their businesses as well as their marketing and export strategies. “Others lack only several stages like readiness that’s why they don’t need to complete all these seven stages. We are giving them certificates of completion once they have complied with all the requirements,” he said. Clavesillas also said under this academy, SMEs will also be taught on how to manage and increase their production and efficiency for competitiveness and to reduce production cost. “We are encouraging them to take part in nation building to lessen gap between the poor and the rich”, he said. SMEs are being classified through their financial capacity. Micro has an asset size of P3 million below; small, P3 million-P5 million; medium, P15 million-P100 million; and large, from P100 million up. In Western Visayas, there are about 11,000 enrolled SMEs which are under close monitoring by the DTI-6. DTI-6 Director Dominic Abad said most of these enrollees are engaged in micro businesses.(PNA)
Posted on: Mon, 15 Jul 2013 10:23:33 +0000