Cebu entrepreneurs urged: Take businesses to next level

Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Melanie Ng (right) says she is optimistic about the opportunities for growth of Cebu’s business sector during yesterday’s opening of the Entrepreneurship Technology Innovation Expo. With her at the expo were (from left) Science and Technology Director Edilberto Paradela and Cebu Business Month committee chairman Michael Basubas. (CDN PHOTO/CHRISTIAN MANINGO)

A business leader in Cebu is encouraging the sector to take advantage of technologies and take business into the next level.

Melanie Ng, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) president, said President-elect Rodridgo Duterte and his Cabinet have laid out plans to help business in the country to grow and all that’s left is for the local business communities to do their share.

“The best we can do is take advantage of technologies that are available because we are a creative and innovative entrepreneurial community here in Cebu,” she said during the launching of the Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation Expo at Robinsons Galleria Cebu on Wednesday.

Ng and other business leaders all over the country were in Davao City on Monday and Tuesday this week to meet with Duterte and some of his Cabinet members to discuss inputs and recommendations on how to spur economic growth in the country in the next six years.

The chamber president said Duterte’s 10-point socioeconomic agenda is very relevant to the needs of the business community.

CCCI and the ongoing Cebu Business Month 2016 are one in this agenda, especially in taking business in Cebu to the next level, said Ng.

She said her optimism stems from the country’s improving macroeconomic environment and expanding domestic market opportunities.

The numbers were shared by incoming Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia during the meeting with Duterte and it was all positive.

Ng said Cebu is consistently paving the way for development and that its economy is growing even faster than that of Metro Manila’s and the whole country’s.

“The way to the next level may be long and difficult, but provided with the right tools, technologies, and support from various government agencies and your chamber, we know it can be done,” she stressed.

The business community in Cebu, Ng said, can be innovative and globally competitive by using advanced technologies to develop their processes, services, and products.

SETUP

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST), for one, provides science and technology innovations for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through its Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP).

DOST Central Visayas Director Edilberto Paradela said the program was launched nationwide in 2013, with P45 million to P50 million set aside for Central Visayas annually since then.

Paradela said SETUP services include infusion of technologies, trainings, advisory and consultancy services, packaging and labeling, equipment acquisition, and networking, among others.

Among the priority sectors of SETUP are those engaged in food processing, furniture, gifts, decors and handicraft, health products and pharmaceuticals, and electronics.

Financial assistance, Paradela said, will vary on the needs of the enterprise, but they can grant as low as P200,000 and as high as P10 million.

Beneficiaries of the program, however, are required to pay back 85 percent of the grant to the government.

Paradela said not quite many are availing of the program mainly because of stringent requirements and processes needed to secure a grant.

“This is necessary to ensure that the enterprises can give back what the government has invested, but we are trying to look for other ways to entice MSMEs to avail,” he said.

EXPO

Michael Basubas, CBM 2016 committee chairman for entrepreneurship, said the expo, which runs from June 24 to 26, is meant to be a venue where business owners, innovators, and investors can collaborate.

The expo is in line with this year’s CBM theme which is “Digital Cebu,” aiming to inspire businesses to tap into innovations and technology to spur economic growth, said Basubas.

Basubas said the expo will help entrepreneurs capitalize on available technologies to further grow their businesses.

Twenty-eight exhibitors have set up booths at the Robinsons Galleria Cebu Atrium.

The exhibitors include LG Philippines, Asus, RC Goldline, Marie Ernestine School of Robotics, Pinnacle Sources Global Consultancy, SGV Foundation, International Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, and PLDT-Smart SME Nation.