The Innovators - Planters Development Bank

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SME Staff Box | Contents PUBLISHER Planters Development Bank EDITORIAL ADVISER Victoria Tambunting-Alfonso EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Bobby F. Banaag EXECUTIVE EDITOR Olive B. Ramirez CIRCULATION MANAGER Joy C. Ursua 03 Around the World 04 Newsline 06 Bizbeat 20 Cover Story Questronix Corporation 24 Feature TILAH Seed Center 28 Save Mother Earth Is it time to switch to LED lights? 29 Lifestyle A Benguet Feast Welcomes All Hungry Travelers 30 Worth Reading 31 Tax Calendar 32 Billboard EDITORIAL CONSULTANT Art Ilano ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Lurisa Villanueva MANAGING EDITOR Maita de Jesus EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Pam Brooke Casin JR. ART DIRECTOR Kimberly Claire Bernardo GRAPHIC ARTIST Jihan Denise Mallonga Illustrations by Jihan Denise Mallonga 08 SME Focus: Management Marketing Operations Case Study Write to us! Send us a line or two at info@ plantersbank.com.ph and be the lucky feedback sender to WIN this exclusive “I love SMEs”mug. Strategy Sales Taxation Entrepreneurship SME | 2
SME Around the World Around the World By Pam Brooke A. Casin South Africa: Growth in self-employment rate benefiting SMEs According to reports, the Absa Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Index rose by 1.4 index points to 93.4 in the second quarter of 2012, boosted by growth in self-employment. The Absa SME Index is based on information taken from different economic indicators released by Statistics SA. Absa enterprise development head Sisa Ntshona said the index disclosed critical information which, in turn, allowed SMEs to come up with informed decisions essential to grow their respective businesses. Ntshona also said that self-employment increased 1.1 percent in the last quarter of 2012, which resulted in an estimated 1.2 million self-employed business people. “The growth in self-employment shows that SMEs are also benefiting from low interest rates, and would also benefit in [the] future if tax relief for them was introduced, as this could be positive for business formation and sustainability,” economist Mike Schussler, who worked on the index, said. United Kingdom: New breed of SMEs ready to exploit market opportunity About two thirds or 65 percent of SMEs in the UK have overhauled their working habits in reaction to their country’s poor economic conditions. According to a report from CitySprint, SMEs now are implementing and imbibing new strategies following the turn of economic events in the UK— revealing a significant cultural shift among the SME community and the entry of a new breed of leaner, more focused “size zero” businesses. The recent study also revealed that a quarter or 24 percent of the 700 SMEs surveyed are now more open to working with other businesses and 14 percent now work with more partners; it also identifies the emergence of “size zero” businesses— firms that are doing away with “non-core functions” by embracing outsourcing, exchanging services, and sharing expertise so as to focus on their key strengths. “This more open, collaborative culture not only strengthens the capabilities, flexibility, and efficiency of SMEs but has a wider economic benefit, stimulating more opportunities for enterprises as ‘suppliers,’” Professor Robert Blackburn, director of Kingston’s University’s Small Business Research Centre said. Patrick Gallagher, CEO of CitySprint, commented, “Our report shows that far from being isolated during the economic downturn, there are real opportunities for new intra-SME contracts across the sector and country and a real sense of optimism. Through the work we do, it has been really fascinating to see businesses seize this opportunity and in many cases, play a part in it.” Australia: NSW offers SME research funding The government of New South Wales is now offering an innovation funding program for small businesses. Launched last December, the “Innovate NSW” program is supported by $6.7 million in funding, aiming to boost research collaboration between SMEs and “the big end of town” (large financial institutions). The program is set to grant up to $15,000 in matched funding for a range of projects such as to help companies prove a concept to a reference customer or collaborate with a NSW research organization to try out a new technology. It will also provide Collaborative Solutions funding of up to 25 percent of project costs to a maximum of $100,000 for consortiums seeking to develop technologies that would strengthen key sectors in the NSW economy which included e-health, online education, advanced manufacturing, transport, infrastructure, and logistics. “The initiative will focus particularly on supporting innovative solutions which use enabling technologies—including mobile, cloud, analytics, sensors, advanced materials, and biosciences,” NSW Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner said. SME | 3
Page 1: FEATURE Tilah Seed Center reaps suc
Page 6 and 7: SME Newsline Plantersbank seal Spec
Page 8 and 9: Bizbeat News and trends of interest
Page 10 and 11: SME Focus Management Ride the Techn
Page 12 and 13: SME Focus Marketing Check your bran
Page 14 and 15: SME Focus Operations Don’t forget
Page 16 and 17: SME Focus Strategy Entrepreneurial
Page 18 and 19: SME Focus Sales Back in the (Prover
Page 20 and 21: SME Entrepreneurship Cash or Crown
Page 22 and 23: SME Cover Story The father and daug
Page 24 and 25: SME Cover Story Partnership with IB
Page 26 and 27: SME Feature The Game Changers By Ru
Page 28 and 29: SME Feature When rice biyaheros fro
Page 30 and 31: SME Save Mother Earth In other word
Page 32 and 33: SME Worth Reading Technology Matter
Page 34: SME Billboard POS Facility for SMEs

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