www.smedsep.ph What's New as of as of 30 August 2006

[SMEDSEP]

  

This is the Monthly Email Newsletter of the DTI-TESDA-GTZ SMEDSEP Program.
Visit our website at www.smedsep.ph for more information.

 

As of 30 August 2006

The first phase of SMEDSEP ends on August 31, 2006. As such, the Program has been winding down Phase 1 activities while at the same time planning for the second phase (September 2006-August 2009). Program-wide activities taking place are:

• Documentation of SMEDSEP’s Good Practices: SMEDSEP approaches carried out in Phase 1 which have the potential for being replicated in Phase 2 (watch this space for more details).
• Preparation for short-term mission to support SMEDSEP in its Planning and Steering mechanisms for Phase 2.

We look forward to another three years of improving the business climate for SMEs!

 

SMEDSEP Component Updates

Enabling Environment

• The development of the DTI-GTZ Handbook on Best Practices on Business Registration is ongoing. The Handbook will showcase examples of cities that have been successful in streamlining business registration and is not limited to cities in the Visayas.
• Meanwhile, the filming of the audiovisual documentary by the Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC) has been completed and is in the advanced stages of editing and production.
• SMEDSEP is also participating in the Provincial SME Development (SMED) Plan Harmonization Workshops in the Visayas. While the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) is supporting DTI in conducting SMED Harmonization Workshops in all regions across the country, GTZ is participating in the Visayan-workshops in preparation for SMEDSEP Phase 2, which will have the implementation and monitoring of the SMED Plan as a major component.

 

Local and Regional Economic Development

• Further promoting its commitment to its partner Local Government Units, SMEDSEP supported Baybay and Palompon in their Operational Planning for Investment Promotion. Meanwhile, the Program has also supported the development of an eco-tourism plan for Ormoc city.
• The LRED Forum , held last month to exchange public-private experiences on LRED, generated a lot of interest regarding the LRED approach, as well as interest in pursuing Business License Streamlining, a joint LRED-EE undertaking which has so far been successfully implemented in Ormoc.
• Ongoing activities include coaching/monitoring visits to partner LGUs and coordinating with DTI on follow-up support for the lighthouse projects. SMEDSEP is also discussing next steps on how the Program can support another GTZ Program in Leyte , the Environment and Rural Development Program, in institutionalizing the LRED Approach.

 

Business Development Services and Demand-Driven Training

• In its commitment to building up the capacity of the local private sector, SMEDSEP recently supported the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industries (CCCI) in Organizational Development Initiatives. The results were the drafting of CCCI's one-year Strategic Plan and capacity build-up of the Chamber in conducting strategic planning exercises.
• Since the CCCI Web Portal Architecture has been approved by CCCI's leaders and supported by DTI and other private stakeholders, the next step of the intervention is to support CCCI in the actual web portal programming and technical specifications . Mr. Carl Krug is currently in town to conduct such training. Though the Portal is being piloted for Region 7, other Visayan regions will participate in Mr. Krug's end-of-mission debriefing to learn about and learn from the intervention.
• A Training of Trainers on Housekeeping in Negros Occidental is to take place this month to help SMEDSEP-supported training providers in upgrading their trainers' competencies. Meanwhile, coaching/monitoring of partner providers in the delivery of their services is ongoing in both Cebu and Negros Occidental.
• SMEDSEP is also preparing a monitoring instrument to assess the impacts of its supported-Training Courses to Employment and SME growth.

 

Financial Services

• Five anchor Rural Banks and two Thrift Banks , all SMEDSEP partners, have been provided customized coaching on SME credit appraisal and loan procedures . The added value of this training is that banks are coached to make loan decisions based on the quality of business proposal, not on collaterals . Using collateral substitutes such as Accounts Receivables and Inventories was part of the training.
• Ms. Baby Francisco is currently implementing an SME Market Survey , (based on secondary data) of the SME market for Banks. In response to the banks' claim that thay are too liquid, the survey was commissioned to determine “where are the SMEs to whom banks could offer credit, and how do we attract them?” Coaching of partner banks on what to do with the results (‘next steps') of the survey will also take place.
• Credit Pricing Seminars were also recently conducted for DTI and partner banks, while the modularization of the SMEDSEP-supported SME Credit Marketing Training – that is, the creation of trainers' manual together with training service providers – is ongoing.

 

Trade Policy and Trade Promotion Project

• GTZ sponsored the Philippine Retirement Industry and Investment Summit, which was organized by the Philippine Retirement Inc. last July 3, 2006 at the Shangri-La Hotel, Makati City. The purpose of this summit was to formulate the strategic roadmap for developing and promoting the Philippines as a destination for foreign retirees.
• The services component has also published Health Briefs 1, 2 and 3.
• The services component also collaborated with the EU Trade Related Technical Assistance (TRTA) Project to sponsor a workshop on training on GATS negotiations for transport officials. The key resource person was Dr. Floros Stasinopoulos former EU negotiator for transport and energy. This was held as part of the 7th session of the GTZ GATS Training Course on Trade in Services last June 23, 2006 at the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

 

 

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