Two new partners of the Small and Medium Enterprise Development for Sustainable Employment Program in Bacolod City will offer business development services for small and medium enterprises engaged in agriculture and food processing in Negros Occidental.

Teaming up with SMEDSEP, a technical cooperation project between the Philippines and Germany, are the Multi-Sectoral Alliance for Development-Negros and the Negros Economic Development Foundation Inc. which were introduced yesterday in launching rites held at the Business Inn.

The partnership was sealed by a memorandum of agreement between officials of MUAD-Negros, NEDF, SMEDSEP and German Technical Cooperation, and the Department of Trade and Industry, which acts as the facilitator of the private market development for BDS.

Volker Steigerwald, Visayas coordinator of GTZ-SMEDSEP, who was one of the signatories, said both MUAD-Negros and NEDF were chosen after undergoing a rigorous screening process and presenting their respective business plans.

“There’s a market demand for these services,” he said.

The BDS partners, who underwent trainings on BDS fundamentals, market analysis through focus group discussions, and business planning, will provide the training services at reasonable fees. 

Under the agreement, MUAD will offer training services such as Need Me Assessment Tool, Unlocking Competencies, Farming Business Course, Market Development, Organizational Management, LIFE Farming Technology, Internal Quality Control System, Financial Management, Training Follow Through Sessions, and Proposal Development and Packaging.

NEDF, meanwhile, will provide services like Basic Skills Training on Food Processing, Basic Entrepreneurship, Business Planning, Training on Good Manufacturing Practices, Packaging and Labeling, Product Costing and Pricing, Record Keeping, Financial Management, Strategic Planning, and Leadership and Team Building.

BDS are the non-financial services that improve the performance of enterprises, their access to markets and their ability to compete.

Both MUAD-Negros and NEDF are part of the second batch of BDS partners in Negros Occidental. In the agreement, MUAD-Negros was represented by executive director Reynic Alo and enterprise trainor and adviser Danny Moraca, while NEDF, by executive director Rose Depra and president Wilhelmina Gonzales. DTI officials who signed the MOA were Regional Director Dominic Abad and Provincial Caretaker Lea Gonzales.           

SMEDSEP first partnered with La Consolacion College-Bacolod, Visayan Maritime Academy, and YES Services Inc. in November 2005 to  provide  new tourism-focused, short-term training programs for entrepreneurs in the tourism-related industry of Negros Occidental.

Lorenzo Templonuevo, regional coordinator of SMEDSEP, said the first batch of BDS partners were part of the pilot-testing stage for the BDS initiative.

“Now that it’s working, we’re in the process of replicating it in other provinces in the Visayas, including the six provinces in Western Visayas,” Templonuevo said.*NLG

back to top