A good day to all!
It is my pleasure to join you today for the annual National Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Summit.
I acknowledge the Department of Trade and Industry and thank its partners for spearheading this event, which aims to equip MSMEs with the tools, knowledge, and connections necessary to thrive in our modern and dynamic business environment.
It is important to note that our MSMEs are one of the steady pillars of the Philippine economy—They comprise more than 99% of all our registered businesses and employ more than 5.4 million Filipinos.
If we want to truly transform the Philippine economy and society, we must not only take care of our MSMEs, but also make sure that they are able to grow, flourish, and compete globally.
With this in mind, I wish to emphasize the role of this summit in fostering a healthy and conducive environment for the growth and prosperity of MSMEs.
Its discussions on building a robust tech startup ecosystem; integrating MSMEs into domestic and global value chains; strengthening the regional innovation and entrepreneurship landscape; and honing the capabilities of our workforce are indeed most welcome.
On this note, I call on all our industry players, experts, and all government agencies to pursue a whole-of-society and a whole-of-government approach to developing our MSMEs.
It is only by forging lasting partnerships with different sectors of society that we can give rise to viable, effective, and efficient solutions to the various issues encountered by our MSMEs, such as financial and market access, skills development, and technology adoption, among others.
I encourage everyone to keep reaching out and coming together so that we can leverage our respective strengths, expertise, and resources to launch our MSMEs to even greater heights.
Let us take advantage of the inputs gathered here from the prime movers of the industry, and our MSMEs themselves, and further unleash the full potential of our MSMEs.
In the meantime, the government remains committed to providing MSMEs with valuable digital literacy training and offering support for diverse e-commerce platforms, all aimed at boosting their efficiency, productivity, and competitiveness.
We will sustain our support for enterprises engaged in agribusiness and provide financial aid for further research and development. We will help in expanding access to financing for MSMEs, including the expansion of loan programs, credit guarantee schemes, and the establishment of a credit scoring system to facilitate lending decisions.
Most importantly, we will be coordinating with various leaders in the private sector to provide mentorship programs and increase our MSMEs’ access to markets and other resources.
We count on all Filipinos—from the private sector to citizens alike—to continue supporting our MSMEs and patronizing our local goods and services.
With all of us working together, I am confident that we can build a more robust MSME sector, and usher in a more resilient, competitive, and prosperous economy for all.
I wish you a stimulating and engaging Summit.
Maraming salamat at mabuhay kayong lahat! [applause]
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SOURCE: PCO-PND (Presidential News Desk)
