Ladies and gentlemen, magandang araw po sa inyong lahat.

We are glad to see our many partners, especially Coca-Cola Philippines, here at the launch of the Tatak: Matatag na Negosyo (TMN) movement, which would ensure the sustainability of our micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Growing from the “Rebuilding Sari-Sari Stores Through Access to Resources and Trade” (or ReSTART) program, the TMN initiative will not only help our micro enterprises recover from the COVID-19 pandemic but also promote their sustainability. That’s why the MSME Development Council (MSMEDC)—which the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) chairs—fully supports this initiative.

Through this whole-of-society coalition of the government, the private sector, and civil society organizations, we can provide interventions to micro stores to enhance their management labor capacities, as well as improve their access to market and finance. This, in turn, will ensure their sustainability through the present pandemic and beyond.

DTI has always believed that a strong collaboration with our private sector partners is a key element towards developing our MSMEs to become more competitive and innovative. Many of our programs under DTI’s 7Ms Framework for Successful Entrepreneurship—which includes Mindset Change, Mastery, Mentoring, Money, Machine, Market Access, and Models of Negosyo—involve this much-appreciated assistance from our partners. What’s more, the programs of the private sector also complement and extend DTI’s own efforts to assist our entrepreneurs.

To close, we thank our micro enterprises for being a constant pillar in our country’s economy. We also thank the commitment of the TMN stakeholders in supporting our micro stores to respond effectively during the present crisis so that they can make the leap toward becoming sustainable stores.

As President Rodrigo Roa Duterte said during his recent State of the Nation Address (SONA), “The pandemic has taken so much from us as a nation but like all other adversities that tested us time and again, it can never take away our courage and resilience.” This collaborative spirit of Bayanihan and the value of malasakit are gifts that will help us to forge ahead towards a better normal.

Maraming salamat po at mabuhay tayong lahat! ♦

Date of Release: 2 August 2021