Davao del Sur enterprise leaders bolster SMEs, IP entrepreneurs

INQUIRER FILES

DAVAO CITY — Enterprise leaders in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur, are putting a powerful concentrate on supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs), notably these from the indigenous individuals’s (IP) sector, to assist them carve out a aggressive area available in the market.

Maria Victoria Evangelista, president of the Sta. Cruz Chamber of Commerce and Trade Inc. and CEO of the homegrown beauty model Bioskin Philippines Davao, emphasised that whereas the municipality is house to main industrial corporations, many small companies, particularly IP-led enterprises, nonetheless want help, notably in advertising and marketing and product improvement.

“The chamber’s major purpose is to uplift SMEs, particularly these operated by IPs. Whereas Sta. Cruz hosts massive gamers like San Miguel Brewery Inc., Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc., Franklin Baker Firm, and Señorita Farms, we additionally must empower the smaller enterprises,” Evangelista mentioned.

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One of many chamber’s key initiatives includes supporting the Bagobo Tagabawa tribe via the Tibolo Farm Employees Affiliation (TIFWA) in Barangay Tibolo, the place lots of its members are engaged in espresso manufacturing. Located on the foot of Mt. Apo, the cultural village in Tibolo serves as a vibrant house to the Bagobo Tagabawa neighborhood.

In line with Evangelista, advertising and marketing stays a significant problem for a lot of native entrepreneurs. The chamber helps handle this by coaching members on correct packaging and branding methods to make their merchandise extra market-ready.

Since its formation in 2024, the Sta. Cruz Chamber of Commerce has been actively encouraging SMEs to register as members to allow them to entry assist providers and take part in capacity-building applications.

So far, the chamber has welcomed 40 new members, together with a quantity from the IP sector.

Corporations like Bioskin Philippines Davao and the plant-based meals enterprise Bec and Geris-both chamber members, are additionally taking part in a task in supporting smaller companies by sourcing uncooked supplies domestically and serving to them discover wider markets.

“These partnerships not solely assist promote native merchandise but in addition strengthen the availability chain inside Sta. Cruz,” Evangelista famous.

Most native farmers are engaged in producing espresso, coconut, and bananas—crops that function key inputs for each corporations which are actually exporting their merchandise to worldwide markets, together with america and Canada, creating broader alternatives for Sta. Cruz’s grassroots producers. /mr