The Department of Science and Technology (DoST) helps businesses within the metals and engineering sector adopt latest technologies through zero-interest financing under its small enterprise program, with one beneficiary in Ilocos Norte reporting improved productivity.
The Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP) is the agency’s flagship program for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), providing financial and technical assistance to assist them acquire appropriate technologies.
DoST Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. told BusinessWorld that eligible MSMEs can receive as much as P5 million in assistance. The quantity is repayable over three years, with repayment starting after the primary 12 months and carrying 0% interest.
“With the SETUP program, our real goal is to assist MSMEs turn into greater,” Mr. Solidum said during a project site visit in Ilocos Norte on Thursday. “In the event that they began as small, we would like them to turn into medium.”
AutoNorte, an auto parts and accessories trading business based in Batac, Ilocos Norte, is among the many beneficiaries of the SETUP program, having received P1.1 million in assistance to amass additional equipment.
The equipment features a four-post lifter, tire changer, wheel balancer, and high-precision computerized wheel alignment machine.
The DoST said the business has recorded productivity improvements, including cutting service time in half, increasing its variety of clients by 30%, expanding its service volume by 50%, and creating three additional jobs.
“Through the equipment, they’ll already offer faster service while ensuring that they proceed earning and expanding their product offerings on their very own,” Mr. Solidum said in Filipino, citing the advantages of this system for the corporate.
The DoST Secretary also said that the agency helps MSMEs expand beyond the support provided under the SETUP program through its recent partnership with the Land Bank of the Philippines, enabling qualified beneficiaries to access additional financing after undergoing the agency’s evaluation and endorsement process.
Aside from the metals and engineering sector, the DoST’s SETUP also supports MSMEs in priority industries corresponding to food processing, agriculture and aquaculture, furniture manufacturing, textiles, health products, information and communications technology (ICT), amongst others.
For the reason that program’s inception in 2002, it has assisted greater than 100,000 MSMEs, DoST said. — Edg Adrian A. Eva