The Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) through Commercial Counsellor Glenn Peñaranda presented at the recent Smart World Negosyo Caravan Program in Singapore, organized by Philippine telco PLDT-Singapore, Philippine Franchise Association and The Global Filipino Investors or TGFI, a community geared to promote financial literacy.
Peñaranda shared the initiatives of the DTI in promoting and fostering among Filipinos an entrepreneurial culture in the Philippines and abroad, by creating an enabling environment for them and helping their businesses become competitive, sustainable and profitable. One of which is the establishment of the Negosyo (Business) Centers across the country. The centers provide a full spectrum of support services needed to encourage growth and development of micro, small and medium enterprises from incubation to export, from business registration assistance to advisory services to monitoring and evaluation.
“The entrepreneurial route will provide more opportunities for wealth creation, employment and economic growth, that’s why we in DTI have actively been encouraging more Filipinos to consider becoming entrepreneurs,” said Commercial Counsellor Peñaranda.
He discussed various business opportunities in the country, particularly in the agriculture, industry and services sectors and tapping the large market of domestic consumers with increasing incomes. He advised would-be entrepreneurs to keep an eye on new areas of growth as new prospects emerge.
The caravan also played host to several franchise options. DTI promotes franchising as a business model specifically in the food industry given its phenomenal growth. Sixty percent of the franchise concepts in the Philippines are in the food segment.
Peñaranda urged visitors and returnees as well to support Philippine businesses by patronizing their products and services and sharing the Filipino brand and experience abroad.
Outside the Philippines, Filipinos can connect with the DTI-Foreign Trade Service Corps for trade preferences, commercial intelligence and introduction to importers and buyers. The DTI-FTSC has a network of 26 Philippine Trade and Investment Centers in major international markets including Singapore.