The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual called on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to embrace digital transformation to expand and be globally competitive.
Pascual said in his speech at the 2024 National MSME Summit in Pasay City the DTI would provide support and the tools necessary to enhance their competitiveness and eventually scale up.
“At the DTI, we translate the theme ‘Innovate to Elevate’ into action for MSMEs. Through our mission of Angat Negosyo, we are integrating digital technologies to propel MSMEs to new heights of competitiveness and scalability,” Pascual said.
“Imagine reducing costs, boosting productivity, and reaching new markets. That’s the power of digitalization. We are doing much to transform digitally our MSMEs and put the digital technologies in your hands, my dear MSMEs,” he said.
The DTI has onboarded 300,321 MSMEs nationwide in e-commerce from January 2023 to March 2024.
These efforts include training in social media platforms such as Instagram, Viber, and TikTok marketplaces, to e-marketplaces such as Shopee, Amazon and Lazada.
The summit, themed “Innovate to Elevate: Empowering MSMEs for Sustainable Growth,” is an annual convention of entrepreneurs, tech startups, academe, and business experts to share their knowledge and insights on the immense opportunities and challenges in today’s rapidly evolving landscape.
It also highlighted the winners of the 2024 presidential awards for outstanding MSMEs and presidential recognition for outstanding development partners held at Malacañan Palace on July 10, 2024.
The finalists of the presidential awards for outstanding MSMEs are island group winners from Northern Luzon (HeySuccess Virtual Assistance Services), Southern Luzon (Ai-She Footwear, Tropical Palm Herb Manufacturing), Visayas (Jojie’s Bakeshop, Kawayan Collective Agricultural Cooperative) and Mindanao (Nelly Coffee and Tablea, Malagos Agri-Ventures Corp.).
The presidential recognition for outstanding development partners was granted to institutions with remarkable programs and services to MSMEs. Recipients included the city government of Biñan for the impact of BMBE (Barangay Micro Business Enterprises) incentives to boost business activity and Capiz State University CAPSULE Technology Business Incubator that facilitated technology transfer and prototype commercialization support to MSMEs.
