Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PamCham) encourages micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to maximize assistance offered by various government agencies.
The group made the statement during a seminar attended by about 15 food and non-food micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
PamCham Director Robert Lo said MSMEs should explore partnerships with the government to expand their respective businesses.
“We have many questions in mind about how we could grow our food and non-food businesses, but I hope through this seminar, we could identify how to avail different programs and services that our partners offer. We want you to grow, so take advantage of this opportunity,” he said.
Meanwhile, PamCham Director Marylou Tolentino urged MSMEs to apply for membership in the business chamber.
The group recently launched the Negoskwela for MSMEs to educate them about business activities such as Bureau of Internal Revenue registration, cash flow, and finance appreciation, among others.
During the forum, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) discussed the process, application requirements, and registration for license-to-operate and certificate of product registration for food and non-food products.
FDA Field Regulatory Operations for North Luzon Cluster Director Gomel Gabuna shared that they are in talks with PamCham and Pampanga State Agricultural University (PSAU) to address registration concerns at the grassroots level.
Meanwhile, PHI Corporation, an outsourcing company which provides regulatory affairs assistance to businesses, vowed to help MSMEs by opening pathways for business growth in the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, food and food supplement, cosmetics and cosmeceuticals, medical device and diagnostics, and veterinary products.
For its part, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Pampanga shared their services including business name registration, capacity building, packaging and labelling, design development, consultancy and counseling through local Negosyo Centers, financial linkages, and shared service facilities.
DTI said MSME owners could apply for the Barangay Micro Business Enterprise program for micro businesses with less than P3 million worth of assets.
Land Bank of the Philippines Pampanga Lending Center likewise discussed the loan programs which MSMEs in the agribusiness, manufacturing, trading, or service provision industries can avail to serve as their working capital, permanent working capital, or fixed asset investment.
PSAU, on the other hand, presented its Sibul Technology Business Incubator (TBI) to linkstartup entrepreneurs inPampanga to opportunities on FDA registration, business development, product development, and financing through its incubation program.
Sibul TBI Project Development Officer Christian Mañalac Jr. said they partnered with PamCham to fast-track the application process of their incubatees on various government assistance programs.
He clarified that Sibul only acts as a conduit to these agencies to ensure government support is always within reach but shall not be misconstrued as their local counterpart. (CLJD/MJSC-PIA 3)