The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with DK P.O. Fulfillment Company Inc. (DKPO), a non-interest financing service to address the development of the Halal industry in the country, particularly for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
“Their support will be pivotal in offering non-interest financing options for the inclusion of MSMEs in Halal Development. Apart from the marketing and promotional activities, the company will offer a suite of services and program for the MSMEs interested in joining the program through non-interest financing,” DTI Secretary Alfredo Pascual said during the MOU signing at the Kingsford Hotel in Pasay City.
The MOU between DTI and DKPO will provide non-interest-based financing opportunities for MSMEs, paving the way for swift integration into the Halal industry.
The concept of non-interest financing addresses financial and economic inclusions and supports one of the underlying principles in Islamic financing, such as the absence of “riba” or interest.
“DK greatly believes that the true growth of the Halal industry will be dependent on a program that will address the development of an end-to-end entrepreneurial ecosystem. The sequence will focus on entrepreneurial education, then pre-seed funding incubation, then acceleration, then market penetration and development, and finally growth funding via transactional venture capital [profit sharing model],” said company executive chairman Antonio Intal.
DKPO was founded with the purpose of empowering small and medium-sized enterprises through its purchase order (PO) fulfillment program, a proprietary system built for sustainable business performance.
The system is a comprehensive and integrated growth tool for expanding businesses with little or no access to capital reserves, insufficient funds to pay for the cost of goods, poor cash flow or chronic difficulties securing traditional bank funding.
Apart from the marketing and promotional activities, the MOU will provide MSMEs with services and programs for logistics management, quality control and inspection, custom brokerage, insurances and global sourcing and procurement.