City officials requested the Cordillera Office of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI-CAR) to regularly conduct customized digital marketing trainings for Baguio-based micro, small and medium enterprises and business start-ups to further capacitate local entrepreneurs in the promotion of their products and services.
Under Resolution No. 423, series of 2020 signed by Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong, the city stated that micro-small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) has been considered as the backbone of the Philippine economy as its comprises about 99.52 percent of all registered business firms in the different parts of the country and employs 62 percent of the labor force and contributes to about 32 percent of the national economy.
The officials pointed out that during this crisis triggered by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic, one of the most affected sectors are the MSMEs as many of them are now on survival mode, thus, government intervention to assist them to get through the financial challenge is urgently needed.
City officials stipulated that aside from loans and financial assistance from the government, proper entrepreneurial skills training will be helpful in improving their competitiveness in the fast-changing times.
According to them, in order to thrive during the prevailing difficult times that traditional business marketing styles cannot be practiced or needs to be upgraded, one consideration is the practice of digital marketing, one of the proven effective tools for business to stay alive in these times.
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City officials added that digital marketing provides a sheer edge apart from wider in scope and it is also cost effective, however, the same can only be realized if local entrepreneurs are well versed and properly trained for such new marketing tool.
In the city, it was recognized that many are turning into instant entrepreneurs or start-ups as their employment had been adversely affected either for being laid off or retrenched by their mother companies as an effect of economic recession due to the global pandemic.
The city stipulated that as a result, many individuals are now venturing into entrepreneurial activities as their full time job as their alternative sources of income, and these initiatives if sustained, will surely help local economy bounce back from the slump and will abate the escalating unemployment rate in the city.
However, city officials admitted some people may have the know-how of doing business, more so that a crucial part of business success at present depends on what marketing platform to be used, thus, the present crisis situation encourages conventional MSMEs to shift marketing strategies and for startups to adopt new and conforming ways to increase the chances of business success.
The State highly encourages private enterprise and recognizes the indispensable role of the private sector in nation building, thus, the emergence of micro, small and medium enterprises in the different parts of the country that had contributed in the vibrant local economy.
Based on the data from the City Permits and Licensing Division, bulk of the business that are existing in the city are micro and small enterprises based on the permits issued by the said office.
By Dexter A. See
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