ARMM holds summit for micro, small and medium enterprises

COTABATO CITY – The Department of Trade and Industry of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DTI-ARMM) and the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Council (MSMEDC) held on Tuesday, December 12, its first ARMM MSME Summit.The event was intended to help advance the promotion and development of micro, small and medium enterprises in the region by empowering local entrepreneurs and providing them with information on the latest trends in the local and global markets.The DTI-ARMM also aims at assisting MSMEs in overcoming issues and challenges they face in the region through the summit. The 10 most promising MSMEs in the ARMM were awarded with plaques of recognition during the program.Regional governor Mujiv Hataman said one of the major economic strategies in ARMM’s Regional Development Plan 2017-2022 is the promotion and development of MSMEs. Handa po ang regional government na tumulong sa inyong mga maliliit na negosyo, pero ang pakiusap namin, gawin natin itong negosyo hindi lamang para sa ating mga sarili, kundi pantulong na rin sa ating komunidad, lipunan, sa ating rehiyon at sa buong bansa, he said.The summit carried the themeand Moving Forward through PESO-PRIDE, or People Empowerment through Social Enterprise – Poverty Reduction by Industry Development andamp Entrepreneurship . The summit gathered hundreds of delegates from ARMM’s five provinces — Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi — and other neighboring areas.The summit’s participants come from MSMEs, local government units, the academe, business support organizations, partner government agencies, chambers of commerce and industry, and MSMED councils.Also present during the program were ARMM Regional Vice-Governor Haroun Alrashid Lucman, Office of the Regional Governor ARMM Chief-of-Staff Atty. Rasol Mitmug Jr., DTI-ARMM Secretary Atty. Anwar Malang, and Director Jerry Clavesillas of the Bureau of Small and Medium Enterprise Development.The summit was one of the programs organized by DTI-ARMM before the year ends. Other events that would be conducted are the Agro-Industrial Forum and the Halal Chevon Stakeholders Workshop on December 13 and 18, respectively.Recently, the department has granted P100,000 seed funding and mentoring support to each of the five winners of its first Social Enterprise Ideation Camp. The five winners are Langkit Weaving, Halal Organic Agricrops Production, and Anaya Solutions, all from the province of Lanao del Sur Center for Integrated Organic Farming System from Maguindanao and There is Hope in Daing from Basilan province.The ideation camp was held in partnership with the Strengthening Civil Society Participation in Social Enterprise Education Development. (Bureau of Public Information)