The Department of Trade and Industry, through its Bureau of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development, is the primary government agency mandated to support the MSME sector.
The DTI has put in place the MSMED Plan covering the years 2011-2016 to serve as framework for the convergence of initiatives adopted and implemented by many government and private-sector agencies and other stakeholders towards the growth and development of the MSME sector in the country.
The Plan has four major targets. These are: Business Environment (BE), Access to Finance (A2F), Access to Markets (A2M), and Productivity and Efficiency (P&E). It also takes account of global developments, regional integration, climate change and other ecological concerns, social responsibility, and migration.
To meet the issues and challenges of the sector, the Plan sets down the following strategies:
To enhance operations of the individual SME
- Provide SMEs access to comprehensive and focused support for enhancing managerial and technological capabilities, tapping business opportunities, and becoming competitive in the local and international markets.
- Provide support for identifying and developing business opportunities through the development of business ideas that promote the expansion and diversification of the country’s industrial structure.
To assist priority industries
- Strengthen support to the growth industries that are active in the international markets to sustain and enhance their competitiveness and improve their access to the domestic market.
- Provide support for industrial linkages of MSMEs with leading Philippine industries to strengthen the country’s industrial structure.
To improve the MSME operational environment
- Develop SME financing support programs and strengthen the institutions that provide direct and appropriate financial services to SMEs.
- Streamline the systems that provide support programs and incentives for MSMEs
- Streamline the implementation of MSME policies and regulations.
- Strengthen and build the capabilities of institutions that generate and implement programs for MSME development.