The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the
Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in the Philippines have joined hands to help micro,
small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) expand their market reach online through
the OneSTore.ph platform.
Sec. Fortunato T. Dela Peña of DOST and Sec. Ramon M. Lopez
of DTI signed a Memorandum of Agreement during the Media Briefing and DTI-DOST
Synergy Meeting on April 5, 2018 in Taguig City.
OneSTore.ph is the first government e-commerce platform
dedicated to marketing high-quality Filipino products of MSMEs through the
worldwide web.
Under the agreement regarding OneSTore.ph, DTI will promote
the platform to MSMEs through its Negosyo
Centers as a platform where they can market their products online. The
Negosyo Centers promote ease of doing business and facilitate access to
services for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) within their
jurisdiction. The scope of their activities encompasses business registry
assistance, advisory services, providing information as required by MSMEs and
monitoring and evaluation of business processes.
DTI will also make Negosyo Centers accessible to clients of
DOST and allow clients to display and dispatch their products through its
payment and logistic partners in the One Town One Product (OTOP) Philippines
HubStores.
OTOP Philippines is DTI’s collaborative program with
national government agencies and local government units which provides customised
intervention to level up the products of various localities. The program aims
to drive inclusive local economic growth.
DOST will develop and maintain oneSTore.ph where its
accredited Regional Hubs and MSMEs may sell products and services to its
clients and engage with payment and logistics partners and provide better
oneSTore.ph services to its accredited Regional Hubs, MSMEs, and its partner
agencies.
DOST will also provide priority to jointly identified OTOP
products for product development initiatives including improvements in
packaging and labeling, subsidy or discounts in testing fees, equipment support,
such as the Small
Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program, and strengthen research and
development efforts.
Last month, DTI entered
into a partnership with the Department of Information and Communications
Technology (DICT) to provide free Wi-Fi and learning modules to DTI’s Negosyo
Centers. Through the agreement, DICT will provide selected DTI Negosyo
Centers with free internet access, ICT equipment, and access to its Tech4ED (Technology for
Education, Employment, Entrepreneurs, and Economic Development
Project)Project. Plans going forward include merging existing Tech4ED
Centers and Negosyo Centers since some of them are housed in the same local
government units. The DICT is also open to host DTI’s educational materials in
the Tech4ED platform.