By Michael Vincent D. Cajulao
ZAMBOANGA CITY – The Department
of Trade and Industry (DTI)-9 officially launched its flagship project called
the Shared Service Facilities (SSF) yesterday with nine cooperative
beneficiaries from the city receiving P3.268 million worth of assistance.
DTI-9 Regional Director Nazrullah B. Manzur said the primary goal of the
program is to help micro, small, and medium enterprises to improve their
businesses.
“This is the first time that we are doing this. This is to enhance the
capability of the organization to produce quality products or deliver quality
service,” Manzur said.
Aside from the said assistance, the DTI is also helping Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in terms of trainings, product development,
marketing and others.
The program aims to address gaps in the value chain of priority clusters
by providing processing or manufacturing equipments, tools and machinery.
DTI turned-over the facilities to their nine pilot cooperative
beneficiaries in a simple ceremony attended by its members, with Zamboanga City
Urban Poor Home Owners Association, which is into slipper-making receiving the
biggest amount of assistance worth P633 thousand of facilities. Three
cooperatives, all into abaca production and fiber processing, received P761
thousand in the form of portable abaca stripping machines and other devices.
Three women’s organizations are also beneficiaries of the SSF which
received various cooking tools and equipments, sewing machines and fabricated
working tables, and chest freezer, stainless steel working table and bangus
deboning equipment, with a combined amount of P989,280.
The other two beneficiaries are the AGAPE Human Dev’t Foundation
receiving P423 thousand worth of equipments for their handicraft business and
the MAPZACARA MP Cooperative which is into coco sugar processing, receiving
P365 thousand worth of facilities.
DTI-Zamboanga City Provincial Director Rolando Acuña said there are
still 16 other cooperatives or groups that will be extended the same assistance
before the year ends.
“In Zamboanga City alone, we are targeting 25 beneficiaries for the SSF.
We will meet this target before the end of this year,” Engr. Acuña said.
Acuña said unlike other government-initiated assistance to MSMEs, SSF is
free.
“We are extending this assistance for free. All we are asking is for all
the beneficiaries to take good care of it, put these into proper use and make
sure that it will help you improve your business. This is only your counterpart,”
he explained.
However, Acuña said DTI has the right to take back the equipments if the
beneficiaries fail to use it properly.
DTI-9 is targeting 67 SSF projects all over Region 9 with an allocation
of P27 million.
“There will also be the same activities that we will be conducting in
Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay in the coming
days. We have an initial budget of P27 million for this year,” Director Manzur
said.
Manzur added that next year, more would-be-beneficiaries can avail of
the program as “next year’s budget will be almost double from this year with
P49 million allocation. Any organization can avail of this program for as long
as they are legitimate and registered with appropriate organizations.”
The turnover ceremony of the equipment was finalized with the signing of
the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) by DTI-9 and the respective presidents of the
nine coop-beneficiaries. (PIA9)