DOST 7 urges MSMEs to avail of SET-UP

By Fayette C. Riñen

Thursday 19th of July 2012

CEBU CITY, July 18 (PIA) -- The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) 7, though its Small Enterprises Technology Upgrading Program (SET-UP), urged all Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Central Visayas to avail of its financial assistance in order for them to be globally competitive.

DOST 7 Regional Director Engr. Rene Burt Llanto said the program was able to help over 1,000 MSMEs in Central Visayas since its launching in 2002.

Only those MSMEs that need science and technology (S&T) interventions and S&T solutions can avail of the SET-UP, Llanto said during this morning’s Kapihan sa PIA that kicked off the Regional Science and Technology Week celebration in Central Visayas.

Llanto said there are priority sectors that are seen to have a huge potential for success which includes food processing, gifts, toys and housewares, furniture and home furnishings, aquaculture, health and pharmaceuticals and information and communication technology or ICT.

“In order to avail, these enterprises must be Filipino-owned with a total asset of not more than P60 million and that in order to be competitive requires science and technology solution,” said Llanto.

The MSMEs are the focused market of the program as 99 percent of the country’s business industry belongs to micro, small and medium scale which is the backbone of the country’s economy.

“The SET-UP is a holistic assistance provided by our agency to micro, small and medium enterprises from the start of consultancy, product development, product packaging and labeling to connecting them to entities for marketing and access to raw materials from DOST beneficiaries,” DOST 7 Supervising Science Research Specialist Engr. Jesus Zamora disclosed.

Llanto said the SET-UP budget for this year is P800 million nationwide P50 to P100 million of which is allocated for Central Visayas.

“So far, we have only used up P25 million. There is still enough budget for those who are interested to avail of our technology upgrading program,” said Llanto.

Llanto said the budget allocation for the SET-UP is increasing as this has been proven to be effective in helping MSMEs. “Last year, the budget allocation for the program is only P300 million which was increased to P800 million this year. By next year, there are plans to raise it to P2 billion,” the DOST 7 chief said.

The DOST 7 director said, however, that he can only approve of one million for financial aid while beyond that needs the approval of their Central Office.

“There is no barrier now for MSMEs to undertake concepts reacted to science and technology in order to fully develop their product and make them more competitive,” Llanto added.

Meanwhile, Llanto stressed that the financial assistance under the program is not free and that these MSMEs must also pay back the government. He added further that “There must also be a return of investment because the money will also be significantly used to help other companies in need,”. (FCR/PIA-Cebu)