As part of the Department of Trade and Industry Region 2’s 17th Padday na Lima Regional Trade Fair, a total of 76 MSMEs and 31 institutional buyers and industry players were expected to benefit from the Special Buyers’ Program – Business to Business Matching that took place on 8 August 2023 at the Festival Mall, Alabang, Muntinlupa City.

Among the invited buyers were from the following institutions:

  1. Jollibee Foundation
  2. Mayani
  3. Rustans Commercial Corp
  4. Paradisa Philippines, Inc.
  5. Robinsons Supermarket
  6. Healthy Options, Inc.
  7. Epicurean Partners Exchange, Inc.
  8. Gillete International Export
  9. Ramgo International Corp.
  10. The Farm at San Benito
  11. SV HESED Solutions, Inc.
  12. Tesoros Philippine Handicrafts
  13. Duty Free Philippines Corp.
  14. Balikbayan Handicrafts
  15. Marubeni Inc.
  16. Follosco Manufacturing and Industrial Corp.
  17. International Flavors and Fragrances, Inc.
  18. Northland Mechanical Engineering Services
  19. Island Accents, Inc.
  20. Silver Bow Events
  21. ProBlends Food Corp

These buyers from Region 4A and NCR were anticipated to play a crucial role in facilitating substantial deals with the region’s MSMEs, assisting them in expanding their market presence both domestically and internationally.

Aside from the B2B Matching, this program which also featured the Buyers’ Networking Night held on 7 August 2023, aimed to help MSMEs establish connections with food processors and exporters, restaurants, hotels, caterers, consolidators, traders, ship chandlers, and retail chain operators, who could be potential buyers and business partners as they partook of Region 2’s positioning as a major supplier of value-added, pre-processed, institutionally packed food commodities meant for institutional buyers.

True to its brand and what it stood for the Padday na Lima Regional Trade Fair had evolved from mostly a consumer fair to a superior and prestigious platform for business matching activities and interactive collaborations, both in the private and public sectors. Most especially, it continued to be a seeding ground for growth and progress, especially in helping Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) optimize their full potential for economic and social development amidst various challenges.

DTI R2, together with its partner agencies and institutions, had been embarking on a campaign to align all efforts towards one direction, and that was to focus on the region’s strengths and objective, which was to position itself in the value chain as a major supplier of value-added, pre-processed, institutionally packed products, instead of simply supplying raw materials.

Date of release: 08 August 2023