CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has launched its small and medium enterprise (SME) roving academy program here to boost “inclusive growth” of all business sectors in this province.
“SME Roving Academy is a continuous breeding ground for start-up enterprises and an institutionalized provision of business development services to the identified enterprises which will make them competitive in the domestic and export markets,” said DTI Provincial Director Elenita Ordonio.
She explained “the program serves as a forum to discuss the problems encountered by SMEs at the provincial level such as lack of access to financial assistance and access to market.”
She said that at the same time, “the program will focus more on integration as it seeks to inform the people of the different interventions of various government agencies so as to trickle down policies from the upper offices.”
The program launch held here featured lectures on “establishing an entrepreneurial mindset, financing, on-line marketing, intellectual property, and marketing trends to hit the year 2014.
“The program is anchored on seven learning stages namely start-up and capability building, market awareness, market readiness, export readiness, export market entry, export sustainability, and export expansion,” she said.
“The first four is handled by the academy while the last three is available through Regional Interactive Platform for Philippine Exporters (RIPPLES),” she added.
