by Miel Feria, SERDEF Media Bureau
The University of the Philippines Institute for Small-Scale Industries (UP ISSI) unveiled the new services offered by its Knowledge Management, Information and Communications Technology (KM-ICT) Department in the launch “Come see the latest @ KM-ICT” last October 1.
Ian de Vera, chair of the KM-ICT Department, talked about the UP ISSI e-bookstore. Initially launched last April, the e-bookstore made access to books published by the Institute, in partnership with the Small Enterprises Research and Development Foundation (SERDEF), easier for mSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises).
The e-bookstore also carries titles no longer available in the Institute’s library. “Some of these books are already out of print and can only be purchased online,” De Vera added.
The newest addition to the titles available on the e-bookstore is the UP ISSI Generics, a book of business plan templates which was written by former research and extension department head Dr. Salvador I. Sibayan.
Jaime S. Guanzon, Jr, OIC of the entrepreneurship research and development department, gave a brief background on the UP ISSI Generics book series which will feature business plan templates for food kiosks, water refilling station and putopao businesses.
Another service launched was a free website development service for mSMEs that will be featured in the electronic marketplace, the e-tiangge, to be administered by the ISSI in partnership with tech start-up Bolooka.
Winston T. Quesang, co-founder and e-commerce consultant of Bolooka gave a brief talk on electronic commerce and the evolution of the internet before passing the mike to his partner Marc Medina who answered questions asked by participants during the open forum and demonstrated how to create and manage a website in the e-tiangge.
The launch ended with a brief preview of one of the upcoming projects of the KM-ICT department, the e-library.
After the program, a ceremonial signing of the memorandum of understanding between the UP ISSI, Balooka and at least five mSMEs, who showed interest in the free website project, took place.