DTI seeks higher budget for MSMEs support

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is seeking a higher budget for its programs aimed at supporting the growth of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in line with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s vow to continue providing low-interest loans for the sector.

“Actually, napakaimportante po ang puhunan sa isang MSME or isang micro enterprises kasi iyon ang pinakaimportante na kailangan nila. Most of them, mayroon na po silang mga produkto pero hindi nila maisulong ito dahil kulang po sila ng puhunan,” Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque said during the Post-State of the Nation Address (SONA) forum in San Juan City on Tuesday.

(Actually, funding is very important for an MSME or a microenterprise because that is the most important thing they need. Most of them already have products, but they cannot promote them because they lack capital.)

In his fourth SONA, Marcos declared: “Ipagpapatuloy natin ang pagbibigay puhunan sa mas marami pang negosyante.”

(Let's continue to support more entrepreneurs.)

“Para makapagsimula ng maliit na negosyo o micro-enterprise sa mababang interest at walang kolateral.”

(To start a small business or micro-enterprise at low interest and without collateral.)

At the sidelines of the forum, Roque told reporters that the DTI will ask Congress for about P10 billion. However, she said the Trade Department is still finalizing its funding proposal for MSMEs’ support.

“But we can go higher because first, our President mentioned that there's really a push for the capital. Definitely, he can provide more funding,” Roque said.

“There's really a push for the MSMEs, especially micro [enterprises]. We're really trying to make sure that we give funding for micro because they need to grow. They cannot remain as micro,” she added.

The Trade chief emphasized that MSMEs comprise 99.5% of businesses in the country and employ about 62% of the labor force. –VAL, GMA Integrated News