More micro, small and medium enterprises (mSMEs) stand to benefit with the increased budget allotted by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to its Shared Service Facility (SSF) program.
SSF, considered the DTI’s flagship program for small business development, seeks to provide mSMEs with equipment and other facilities that can be shared by multiple organized users, like members of cooperatives, communities, and beneficiary-groups of foundations and non-government organizations. The ultimate goal is to promote the growth of innovative and globally competitive micro, small and medium enterprises.
Under the program, the DTI’s Regional Operations and Development Group (RODG) provides the processing equipment through its private sector partners which, in turn, house these equipment in sustainable facilities.
The goal of the program is put up 800 service facilities all over the country. In a statement issued midyear in 2013, the DTI said it was on track in reaching this target.
Trade Undersecretary Adrian S. Cristobal, Jr. noted that most of the beneficiary projects would be agriculture- or rural based as these are the ones that can potentially generate the most number of jobs and ultimately promote inclusive rural growth.
A recent beneficiary of the program is the Philippine Bamboo Foundation PBFI) to which the DTI turned over equipment and machinery for various bamboo processing projects in Negros Oriental.
The facility is expected to enable micro businesses and workers in the bamboo industry to mechanize their operations and consequently increase their production capacity and efficiency, diversify their products and services, and reach more markets.
The output from the PBFI is intended to replace buildings and dwellings in Central Visayas that have been earthquake- and typhoon-damaged last year.
The DTI’s partners in implementing the Shared Service Facility , aside from the private sector, are the Department of Science and Technology, the local governments units, and the academe.
Photo: “HMS Belfast Common machine shop (3)” by Les Chatfield, c/o Flickr. Some Rights Reserved