by rossanahead | Mar 27, 2017 | business, Trainers
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is convening the 2017 Exporters’ Forum on March 29, 2017 at the Bulwagang Bangko Sentral, 19/F, Multi-Storey Building, BSP Complex, Malate, Manila, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
The Exporters’ Forum is an annual event which serves as a venue for discussion with representatives of major export industry firms and associations on recent developments, issues, and outlook for their respective sectors.
For inquiries on the forum, please contact the agency at (02) 306-2970 or 708-7701 local 2680 (landline), 708-7217 (fax), or 0908-261-6432 (mobile).
For the forum program, click here.
Featured Photo from Daily Tribune
by rossanahead | Mar 27, 2017 | Business Tips, Existing Business, Startup Guide
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has launched its first Go Lokal! store in Robinsons mall and plans to open a similar outlet in SM.
On March 24, DTI opened in Robinsons Place Manila its initial Go Lokal! store, a public-private collaboration between the agency and local retailer partners.
Go Lokal! is a design-based concept store and market platform showcasing modern and indigenous quality products crafted, designed, and created by Filipino micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The market platform is set to revolutionize the way hard-to-find and artisanal Filipino products are sold in the local market by bringing together a specially curated lineup that includes food products, apparel, accessories, home décor, gadgets, and gift items.
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said that aside from providing market access for MSME products, Go Lokal! is a venue for new entrepreneurs to test the marketability of their products without fear of losing on rental and commercial costs because their Go Lokal! experience is free of charge.
“DTI is excited to open its first mainstream Go Lokal! store with Robinsons Department Store as its dynamic partner in this effort of maximizing market access and providing exposure to our MSMEs,” said Lopez. “We look forward to opening more outlets in their malls and department stores across the country.”
“Ultimately, it’s all about accessibility and opportunity for MSMEs, both of which you need to be successful in retail. Go Lokal! is one way for DTI and Robinsons Department Store to give assurance to these business owners that they have support from both the government and the private sector so they may profit from ventures that they are passionate about,” Robinsons Department Store president and COO Robina Gokongwei-Pe said.
Go Lokal! outlet at SM Makati
Also on March 24, DTI signed an agreement with Kultura, the country’s largest retailer of homegrown products, to open a Go Lokal! store in SM Makati.
Kultura’s Go Lokal! store opens in April at the second level of SM Makati and will run throughout the year.
“Kultura and Go Lokal! are complementary avenues to help our local MSMEs gain retail foothold in the Philippine domestic market. We are pleased to open a Go Lokal! together with Kultura as a testament of our collective thrust of inclusive growth and development of our MSMEs,” said Lopez.
“Kultura has become a showcase of local artistry and craftsmanship and furthers its advocacy by partnering with the DTI for its Go Lokal Project, providing a venue for the distribution and promotion of products sourced from MSMEs,” said Ivy Frances Yap, Kultura’s senior vice president for operations.
Featured Photo from Philippine Retailers Association
by rossanahead | Mar 24, 2017 | career, Education
According to the “2017 JobStreet.com Fresh Graduates Report,” three fields have overtaken information technology as the most generous employer for fresh graduates–law, healthcare, and journalism.
Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash
by rossanahead | Mar 24, 2017 | Business Tips, Existing Business, Startup Guide, Trainers
In line with the Philippine administration’s agenda of accelerating the growth of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez has announced the nationwide schedule of the Kapatid Mentor ME for 2017.
The Kapatid Mentor ME Program aims to assist MSMEs scale up and sustain their businesses through weekly coaching and mentoring by business owners and practitioners on different functional areas of entrepreneurship. It is a joint program of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship-Go Negosyo.
“With our strong desire to help the country’s MSMEs and provide jobs to Filipinos, DTI and PCE-Go Negosyo conceptualized the Kapatid Mentor ME Program to serve as the entrepreneurs’ guide to a globally competitive enterprise,” Lopez said.
The trade chief, as chair of the ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting and Related Meetings, continues to champion the MSME development thrust at the meeting with his fellow ASEAN economic leaders, bringing the national priority to the regional agenda.
The Kapatid Mentor ME sessions kicked off March 8, 2017 in Catbalogan, Samar and will run in 89 areas in 16 regions throughout the country until the end of the year.
The 11-week program will have weekly modules such as Marketing, Financial Management, Human Resource Management, and Operations Management, among others. On the 11th week, the mentee is required to present his or her business improvement plan, incorporating the learning from the lectures and mentoring sessions.
To qualify as a mentee, the entrepreneur should be a business owner or manager of an enterprise with an asset of P3 million and below, operating for at least one year.
“To help address poverty, we are consistently determined to produce more entrepreneurs, as well as generate more jobs for Filipinos,” Lopez said.
To get more information about the Kapatid Project and view the Kapatid Mentor ME Program Schedule for 2017, click here.
You may also visit the Negosyo Center nearest you for training programs.
Featured Photo from Dumaguete Info
by rossanahead | Mar 22, 2017 | business, Business Tips, Existing Business, gender equality
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is leading the drive to help more women entrepreneurs in the region, including those in the Philippines, gain entry into the global marketplace.
Small business promotion authorities from APEC member economies are taking the next steps to ease bottlenecks hindering women-led exporters and their growth and job-creating potential in the Asia-Pacific, the APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Working Group said in a statement.
The group detailed plans to expand efforts to tackle gender bias in trade during recent meetings in Sydney, Australia. These include greater cross-border training and technical exchange to enable reforms that aim to level the playing field for women-owned and managed firms in APEC economies, and improve their access to international markets.
“The move could increase trade-driven growth and job creation across a range of businesses—from a successful hand-loomed fabric producer run and operated by women in Philippine villages, to an emerging technology company started by a Peruvian woman that helps disabled people to communicate via instant messaging, to women-managed suppliers of materials and parts in Viet Nam that support manufacturers in Australia, Japan and the United States,” said the statement released March 22.
“APEC economies are deepening cooperation to break down barriers to the development and competitiveness of women-led businesses,” explained Nguyen Hoa Cuong, chair of the working group.
“Our work to address inequalities facing women entrepreneurs and managers stands to boost trade and growth, particularly among small businesses that account for the majority of employment across the region,” noted Nguyen.
The focus is on lowering institutional and policy barriers to participation in trade by women-led businesses. Examples include outdated labor laws that fail to sufficiently protect women, a lack of childcare services, limited availability of credit, and inadequate or out-of-reach higher education and skills development opportunities.
To address these challenges, APEC is increasing public sector capacity to introduce gender-responsive trade promotion policies and programs, in coordination with the business community and civil society. Training and information-sharing sessions for trade promotion officials, to be held next month in Ha Noi, Vietnam, will take this multi-year, region-wide initiative forward.
“Women-led small and medium enterprises can better tap into international business and global supply chains when they are supported by government policy and practices that tackle gender specific constraints faced by female entrepreneurs,” explained Cynthia Balogh, director of Women Going Global, the chief trainer leading the team overseeing the project. “The incentives for job creation and growth in the region are potentially huge.”
This work is complemented by measures taking shape in APEC to widen access and use of e-commerce by women-led micro, small, and medium enterprises, helping them reach customers and business partners abroad.
Opening up financing avenues, branding, intellectual property protection, and management support are further areas of emphasis.
“Women in the Asia-Pacific are major drivers of small businesses with great exporting potential but may be constrained by unsupportive economic and social policies,” said Hoang Thi Thu Huyen, chair of the APEC Policy Partnership on Women and the Economy.
“Reform is key to realizing more gender balanced trade that benefits everyone. It is also critical to transforming attitudes that remain the bigger obstacle to women’s economic empowerment,” she added. – Romelda C. Ascutia
Photo: Asian Development Bank
Featured Photo from Agriculture.com
