Micro, small, & medium enterprises get sustained support from DOST
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) continues to offer assistance to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country with the recent recognition of two Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading (SETUP) program adoptors.
Science Secretary Fortunato dela Pena expressed his support to MSMEs as the agency noted the strength of the sector as a major contributor to economic growth, composing 99.5 percent of the over 900,000 establishments in the Philippines.
“The MSMEs generated a total of 4,784,870 jobs in 2015 versus 2,981,819 for the large enterprises. This indicates that MSMEs contributed almost 61.6 percent of the total jobs generated by all types of business establishments,” he said.
“Realizing the vast potential of the MSMEs, the DOST positioned itself to play a vital role in revving up the engines of economic performance through the appropriate use of science, technology and innovation in pushing MSMEs higher in the value chain,” he added.
Through the SETUP program, the DOST aims to assist MSMEs in improving their operations to increase their productivity, improve their product quality, and ensure their sustainability.
In fact, the DOST took notice of two small but efficient businesses during the recent awarding of the Search for the Best SETUP Adoptor 2017 held in Pasay City: A calamansi concentration production program in Eastern Samar and a bakery based in Batangas.
Bakery success Another SETUP adopter given recognition was a bakery stall owned by a couple from Tanauan, Batangas which was inspired by a worn-out brick oven they owned.
“From a worn-out brick oven found in an inherited house at Barangay IV, Tanauan City, Batangas in 1950, we got interested to venture to bakery business,” Arelio and Celinda Pantoja said.
From 150,000 worth of capital, Aurelio reformed their oven and hired few bakers from neighboring towns to perform the baking process.
“During that time, there was no advent of technology such as mechanical equipment like mixers, rounders, dough rollers and slicers. Everything was made and processed by hand,” Aurelio said.
That moment, only two bakeries, Panaderia Pantoja and Almeda Bakery, exist in Tanauan. “Word of mouth” has been the only strong promotion of the firm to market their products which at that time was limited only to pandesal, jacobina, paborita, and few other oldtime favorite tooth-friendly breads.
Panaderia Pantoja has become one of the largest bakery chain businesses in the province of Batangas with franchisees, dealers and company-owned branches in different towns in Batangas, Cavite, Laguna and the Greater Manila Area. Panaderia Pantoja also entered the international market by exporting some of the products from the Sortidos (biscuits) line through a consolidator.
In 2012, Panaderia Pantoja was awarded with their first DOST SETUP project for upgrading their production facility. DOST interventions provided to them were the following: Acquired equipment to increase production capacity; nutritional and shelf-Life analysis of jacobina and biscocho product; manpower training, energy audit; and consultancy and technical advisory services on production process and plant lay-out and facilities.
This resulted to 33 percent increase in the production and sales of the business.
The couple’s success story made them as one of the top five finalists among the 16 regional finalists in the Search for Best SETUP Adoptor 2017 by DOST.
Calamansi wonders Island’s Best Food (IBF) was hailed as one of the top five finalists in this year’s Search for the Best SETUP Adoptor. IBF is a community-based technology training program on calamansi concentrate production at Homonhon Island, Guiuan, Eastern Samar managed by Rosario Amoroto.
IBF was formally established in March 10, 2009 with an initial capital of 115,000.
“It specializes on the value addition of calamansi fruit produced by calamansi growers (farmers) in different barangays in Homonhon Island — an alternative livelihood intervention which enable them to go away from engaging in the extraction of mines in the island that torture the nature instead of nurturing the environment,” Amoroto said.
The DOST noticed the potential of Amoroto’s business and started funding it to further help the community and allotted about 1500,000 for its growth.
Amoroto said low production output due to manual operation and non-standard product quality of calamansi juice concentrate limited the firm to expand its market.
In 2011, the DOST-8 provided intervention through SETUP Innovation System Support for the mechanization of production line from squeezing, pasturizing, cooling to filling/packaging. Improvement of product packaging and label design, and technical training and consultancy services were also provided.
Currently, the volume and quality of calamansi juice concentrate significantly improved while sustained employment opportunity to five production workers were provided and additional income to more than 100 calamansi growers (raw material suppliers) in the Homonhon Island were sustained.