Women at the Helm - Planters Development Bank

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BizbeatNews and trendsof interest forlocal SMEsBy Portia SilvaMobile ads to boost SME successWith the availability of affordablemobile phones and the expansion ofmobile services and users in the country,mobile advertising is highly consideredthe cheaper and the more convenientadvertising platform for SMEs.This steers business owners awayfrom the traditional mediums ofadvertising posed in television,radio, and print. In a report sharedby Bela Gupta D’Souza, head of theDigital and Advertising departmentof mobile content provider companyEntertainment Gateway Group (EGG),businesses should take advantageof the higher consumer responserates brought about by mobile ads.Internationally, mobile advertisers findthat the market responds to mobileads by as much as 5% more. D’Souzaalso emphasized that the Philippinesaccounts for 10% of all SMS sentglobally with users checking theirdevices within 90 seconds of reach,which are both positive indicators thatmobile advertising can bring growth tolocal businesses.Mobile advertising is also beingconsidered for other kinds of businesstransactions such as productsand services payment, consumerinteraction and market conversion.DTI shifts back to ‘clustering’ for SME growthThe Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) SecretaryGregory Domingo confirmed that they have reimplementedthe “industry clustering” approach in thecountry for SME development. This approach, which waslifted from “The Competitive Advantage of Nations”by Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter.It groups together businesses of similar natures in onegeographic area to strengthen its competitiveness againstother trades.The revival of this trade plan stems from very low interest ratesand decreasing Chinese investors, which then depletes thePhilippines' access to the world's factory.SME | 6
Previously, the department introduced the “One-Town,One-Product” (OTOP) approach that proved to be lesseffective in the labor-intensive nature of majority of SMEsin the country. The OTOP approach, which Thailand usesfor its own SME development, was implemented during theArroyo administration.Market competition, financial problems amongSME issues in Asia PacificMajority of SMEs in the Asia Pacific region including thePhilippines have been struggling because of key issuesidentified by industry experts during the 27th Confederationof Asia-Pacific Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CACCI).Likewise DTI Cebu business developmentchief Elias Guia Tecson echoed thesame sentiments and proposals byAbraham. He pointed out that PhilippineSMEs make up to 62% of the totalemployment in the country and 35.7%of value-added contribution to theeconomy which is why it is pertinentto give them access to more flexiblefinancing schemes and businessopportunities here and abroad.New electricity distributionscheme to benefit SMEexportersThe Department of Trade and Industry(DTI) said that small and mediumenterprise (SME) exporters will soonbe able to choose their power supplierthrough the Retail Competition andOpen Access (RCOA) scheme by theDepartment of Energy (DOE).The scheme is seen to benefit SMEexporters since it will let them choosea supplier with the most reasonableelectricity rate resulting in lowering theircost of doing business.The RCOA caters to contestablecustomers or electricity end-users witha monthly average peak consumption ofat least one megawatt for the preceding12 months.Certain problems of business owners in this area are thosethat involve competition, manpower, operating costs, lackof opportunities, depleting cash flows, and bank financing.CACCI SME Development Council chairman George Abrahamrecommended that SMEs should learn how to handle marketchanges and forge healthy relationships with other merchantsso they can compete against industry leaders.Abraham further encouragd the SME board to establishan efficient financing system within the union, to help puttogether readily available government resources, and tohelp encourage SMEs to be proactive in trade fairs andindustry shows.According to DOE, a contestablecustomer must register with thePhilippine Electricity Market Corporation(PEMC) before commercial operationsstart on June 26. The migration to openaccess is mandatory for all entities in thelist of contestable customers prepared bythe Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).There are 818 and 91 firms in Luzonand Visayas respectively which canparticipate in the retail market.The RCOA scheme is only available toLuzon and Visayas at the present, butthe DOE said that the Interim MindanaoElectricity Market (IMEM), which isbeing set up to address power shortagein Mindanao will start operations inSeptember this year.SME | 7
Page 1: FEATUREC & L EnterprisesUltimate Vi
Page 4 and 5: SMEStaff Box | ContentsPUBLISHERPla
Page 6 and 7: SMENewslineAPEC Financial Instituti
Page 10 and 11: SME FocusManagementCHERRY SALAZARPr
Page 12 and 13: SME FocusHumanResourcesHow not to d
Page 14: SME FocusCase StudyGender-fairnessv
Page 17 and 18: The good news: you can get everythi
Page 19 and 20: SME FocusTaxationAre you upfor a ta
Page 21 and 22: Things took for an interesting turn
Page 23 and 24: Beautiful inside and outThe busines
Page 26 and 27: SMEFeatureDivine feminine“If you
Page 28 and 29: SMEFeaturePHOTOS BY JOJO GLORIA | H
Page 30 and 31: SMESave MotherEarthHow green roofsc
Page 32 and 33: SMEWorth ReadingOn TopHere are some
Page 34: SMEBillboardProudly Philippine-made

Women at the Helm - Planters Development Bank

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