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PTTC: New hub for MSME Academy

The Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC) recently embraced its new role as the hub for Filipino innovators to produce “smarter” entrepreneurs through the soft launch of the Philippine Global MSME Academy. Moreover, a signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between and among multi-stakeholder collaborators including the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and PTTC, Lead-More Development Inc., and other industry partners for the Integrated Center for Entrepreneurship (ICE) project was also done on 27 February 2019.

The PTTC’s new brand as the home to the Philippines’ Global MSMEs Academy (GMEA) will have a bigger role in developing the country’s entrepreneurship programs as well as honing the skills of the country’s entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs. The GMEA aims to promote more “globally competitive MSMEs that are regionally integrated, resilient, sustainable and innovative, thereby performing as key drivers of inclusive Philippine economic growth”.

For its part in the GMEA, PTTC has aligned its Entrepreneurship training programs for the youth, women and Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in tandem with other institutions providing capacity building programs for the said sectors.

Meanwhile, DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez said he wants to transform the country’s MSMEs from mere buy and sell traders into innovators who can come up with new products and services that will address local as well as regional and even global needs. The GMEA, he claimed will be the innovation centers and local hubs where aspiring and established entrepreneurs can learn from mentors and seek financing for their businesses. He added that DTI will team up with agencies like DepEd to strengthen the curriculum of elementary and high school students to reinforce science, technology and entrepreneurship and TESDA to develop more skills training for students.

On the other hand, the PTTC was also made the home and administrator of the ASEAN SME Academy, thereby making the Philippines as the first country to become the administrator of the ASEAN SME Academy through the Department of Trade and Industry. As the new academy administrator, the PTTC shall facilitate online forums that will link MSMEs in the Philippines to SMEs in Southeast Asia to share experiences on common issues in business and trade, identify best practices, and benchmark in the best practices of ASEAN member economies.

Further, the ASEAN SME Academy is a one-stop multi-platform online learning and information resource for Southeast Asian SMEs with support from USAID, ASEAN Coordinating Committee on MSME and the US-ASEAN Business Council (US-ABC).

At present, there are 50 training courses on finance and accounting management, marketing, operation, technology, and trade and logistics from Fortune 500 companies and members of the US-ABC for Competitive SMEs are being offered.  In addition, the Academy contains around 350 relevant links to business information and access to directory of service providers to whom SMEs can reach out for financial advice, corporate programs and networking.

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Personal properties now accepted as loan collateral 

President Duterte signed last month, Republic Act No.11057 or the Personal Property Security Act (PPSA)  to boost access to credit and financing for the country’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), including exporters as well as farmers and fisherfolks. This means that banks and other financial institutions will now accept account receivables, inventory, warehouse receipts, crops, livestock, machinery and equipment, vehicles and even deposit accounts.

In the past, banks and other financial institutions prefer traditional collateral such as real estate or land for loan applications. As these assets are hard to come by for MSMEs, bank loans were often only accessible to and obtained by larger corporations. But with the new measure, land titles would now cease to be the sole requirement for securing bank loans.

By expanding the said list, the government is promoting an increase in economic activity of the MSMEs which redounds to better businesses, more revenues and more jobs for the Filipinos.

Further, the law also provides for the establishment of a unified, centralized online notice-based collateral registry that is lodged in the Land Registration Authority (LRA) to provide protection and more confidence to banks and financial institutions in lending to MSMEs and the agriculture sector. Such collateral registry will serve as a centralized digital record for personal properties being used as collateral, thus, allowing banks to make sure that their applicants’ collateral will not be used for more than one loan application.

In addition, the passage of the law is expected to improve the country’s position in the Getting Credit indicator of the Ease of Doing Business Survey of the World Bank.

Finally, with a sustained effort from the government and private sector partners, the country will surely achieve a more competitive and sustainable economic growth through a reformed and secured transaction system in the country. (GTM)
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PH needs to catch up with ASEAN neighbors in Dual Training System


Philippine and  German delegates to the benchmarking mission on Dual Training System in Malaysia and Thailand

The Philippines needs to catch up with ASEAN neighbors in the implementation of its Dual Training System (DTS). This conclusion is a result of the recent benchmarking mission to Malaysia and Thailand on Dual Training System conducted last 22-27 October, 2018. The main objective of the mission is to benchmark and network with the Malaysia and Thailand Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) systems and approaches with the end view of adoption and potential best practice elements in Dual VET, certification and In-company training which are the essential elements of the Dual Training System (DTS).

The lessons learned include determination of how the Dual VET policy framework in both countries is operationalized on the ground; observation how the Malaysian and Thai Dual DTS models work; gainful and deeper insight into both countries’ experiences through direct interaction with the DTS practitioners; comparison of various approaches and identification of what is adaptable in the Philippines; and instituting networks with Malaysia and Thai Dual VET players.

The Malaysian government fully supported the DTS system in their country, in coordination with the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Malaysian Chapter (GCCI-Malaysia), by providing land, building and training facilities and equipment to train those students who opted to take vocational courses as well as their unemployed youths. In turn, GCCI-Malaysia assisted the government by partnering the Malaysian training institutions with multinational companies in terms of technical assistance and acquiring state of the art equipment/ technology or laboratories for use of students and faculties alike. Courses offered in the Malaysian DTS program include Mechatronics, Industrial Management and Logistics Operations Management, Electronics, Automation, Industry 4.0 Specialists course, International Master Craftsman, to name a few. However, unlike in the PH, Malaysia does not implement a ladderized form of education wherein subjects were not credited by the Malaysian higher education institutions when students who took up vocational courses finally opts to enroll in college.

The Thai government also fully supports the DTS system in their country in collaboration with the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Thailand (GCCI-Thailand). It can be noted that the DTS implementation in Thailand specifically of the Don Bosco Academy can be replicated in the PH to help  strengthen resurgence of the country’s manufacturing sector e.g., students produce products for exporters using equipment and facilities donated by multi-national companies or thru the assistance of the German Federal Republic. In addition, Thailand is implementing a ladderized form of education where subjects being taken in the tech-voc curriculum are being credited by the Thai higher education institutions.

Meanwhile, in order for the PH to catch up, it is recommended that a review and subsequent amendment of the current Dual Training System Law be considered.  This is so because in the DTS law, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) is both the regulator and provider of all technical and vocational trainings in the country, notwithstanding the private training institutions in the country who are to be accredited first by the latter before they can operate.  The PH should also formulate strategies and interventions needed by the country’s apprenticeship program as it relates to our current “endo” regime.  Apprenticeship programs under the dual training system can last from two (2) to three (3) years.  Hence, with our current “endo’ arrangements, this would be impossible.

The said study mission was spearheaded by the AFOS Foundation – K to 12 Plus Project ( a TVET training institution based in Cebu) in collaboration with the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry Philippines (GCCI-PH). Twenty five (25) participants (three (3) Germans and twenty two (22) Filipinos) from private sector, academe and training institutions took part in the said activity. (GTM)

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Heightened Industry-Government-Academe partnership increases employment and improve international competitiveness

“Since the inception of the industry-government-academe linkage, there is now greater participation and partnerships between companies and universities in the implementation of this reform at ground level.”  This was reported by Mr. Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr., president of the Philippine Exporters Confederation (PHILEXPORT) and Vice-Chair of the Export Development Council (EDC), during the  recently concluded 8th National Education Forum.

The industry leader cited both the BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) and the Electronics industries as models for industry-government-academe partnership. They have been adopting and implementing the said reform in order for them to address their jobs-skills mismatch and make their respective industries become more globally competitive.

To date, The BPO employs 1.3 million people last year and is expected to grow up to 1.7 billion within the year, while the electronics industry employs 3.2. million direct and indirect workers.  In addition, both industries have established work immersion and internship programs as well as various industry-based programs that promote employment.

Ortiz-Luis, Jr, later explained that responding to the global realities and domestic demands would require a balance between what is being demanded by the labor market and what is being supplied by the education and training sector. He added that there is need to respond to the challenges posed by globalization, trade liberalization, information and technological advancement, international cooperation and agreements.

He continued that “globalization, includes among others, freer and borderless movement of capital goods, services, technology, information and human resource development between and among countries. Thus, the rapid change in information and communication technology directly impacts on the way work is being organized and executed, how products are being manufactured and shipped, and how systems and processes are implemented”.

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Philippines is a potential Innovation Hub in Asia

Companies in the country are battling it out in the innovation business. This was confirmed during the recently concluded National Export Congress 2017. The event reaffirms what other countries say that the Philippines can become the Innovation Hub in the Asian Region.

Research and Development (R&D) by companies focused on products, human resource and digital marketing were featured in the annual event. An example of this product innovation, Chemrez Technologies, Inc. developed its virgin coconut oil that stays in its liquid form even when the temperature goes down to 5 degrees celcius. The company was also able to remove the taste and smell of the coconut from their products. By employing extensive R&D to their coconut oil, they were able to create a new category for their product that was of higher value. By introducing innovation in their coconut oil, they have created new markets and new consumers for products that would otherwise be limited by its physical form. As an innovative company, Chemrez has to keep on developing new products that are not only ahead of competition but products that will pioneer the markets. –Grace T. Mirasol

Managing Director, Dean A. Lao Jr. of Chemrez Technologies, Inc. (left) and Chief Technology Innovation Officer, Delfin Jay M. Sabido IX (right) of Stratpoint Technologies Inc. share their innovations during the National Export Congress 2017 Panel Discussion. 

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Factoring and Crowdsourcing your way to Financing

To address the need of the export sector for innovative financing options, factoring and crowdsourcing platforms were introduced in a seminar conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry- Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB), in collaboration with the Export Development Council and PHILEXPORT under the Philippine Export Competitiveness Program (PECP).

Factoring is a financial transaction and a type of debtor finance in which a business sells its accounts receivables, i.e., invoices to a third party (called a factor) at a discount. Factoring is not the same as invoice discounting. Factoring is the sale of receivables, whereas invoice discounting is a borrowing that involves the use of accounts receivable assets as collateral for the loan. Export factoring on the other hand, is a package that encompasses credit protection, export working capital financing, foreign accounts receivable bookkeeping and collection services. The financier (factor, which usually are the banks) will purchase accounts receivable of invoices, which are raised once the seller (exporter) ships the goods to the buyer. Factoring was discussed by Mr. Etienne Von de Bogaert of the Eurofin Asia Group Pte Ltd., a company based in Singapore.

Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising many small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding offers a chance of success for MSMEs by showcasing their businesses and projects to the entire world. Crowdsourcing was discussed by Mr. Edison Tsai of New Union.

DTI-EMB regularly conducts these information sessions through its Philippine Export Competitiveness Program (PECP)featuring current concerns of exporters. For more details and updates on topics, contact DTI-EMB at telephone number 465-3300 loc. 109 or email to exponent@dti.gov.ph.-Grace T. Mirasol

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PNB launches new credit facility for SMES

The Philippine National Bank (PNB), one of the country’s largest private local commercial banks, launched the Small Enterprise Virtual Card for Small Enterprises last 06 March 2017. This new loan facility is fully operational starting 25 March 2017. It is PNB’s financing innovation to SMEs who are looking for additional capital for their business expansion.

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