Northern Mindanao MSMEs get DTI boost

The Board of Investments (BOI) has recently linked micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Northern Mindanao as suppliers for big businesses in the region.

In a statement, BOI said that it has facilitated meetings between 75 MSME suppliers with 10 company buyers, leading to an initial P4 million in closed deals. Other agreements are still under negotiation.

This was done through BOI’s Domestic Investments Promotion Service-Cagayan De Oro Extension Office, in partnership with the Northern Mindanao Regional Office of the Department of Trade and Industry.

These deals included the Bolo Farm, which BOI said will initially be supplying Anakciano Inc., a poultry backward integrator, 250 metric tons of corn for the feed mill division of the company.

RJ Sun Tropical Herbs and Fruits, a processor of fruit concentrates from Southern Bukidnon, will be delivering guyabano puree to VIP hotel, which is located in Cagayan de Oro.

On the other hand, Judicar Cakes, Eat Fat Nai Food Products and Mr. James Lugatog, closed deals with YSU Marketing Corp., which provides packaging solutions, for the supply of their packaging materials at wholesale prices.

The procurement matching activity formed part of the annual Northern Mindanao Regional Kahimunan Trade Fair held last month.

BOI’s Cagayan De Oro Extension Office identified the companies who can be potential institutional buyers, coordinating with DTI’s office in Northern Mindanao for the MSME suppliers of the firms’ procurement requirements.

The participating MSMEs from the five provinces of the region—Misamis Oriental, Bukidnon, Camiguin, Lanao del Norte, and Misamis Occidental—are local suppliers or producers of processed food, fresh fruits and vegetables, beverages, spices, and condiments.

The move complements BOI’s initiative to further promote inclusive business, which is one if its preferred business activities under the Investment Priorities Plan (IPP), according to Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo.

He said that inclusive business goes beyond philanthropy, investing instead to address poverty issues “because it makes good business sense.”

“By engaging low-income communities as partners, customers, suppliers or employees in value chains of big businesses, [inclusive businesses] can transform communities into new markets and new sources of entrepreneurial talent,” he said.

The IPP gives tax incentives to certain government preferred businesses. Inclusive business projects in agribusiness and tourism sectors could qualify under the IPP, which could give the projects years of income tax holiday.

It was not clear, however, if the small players in Northern Mindanao qualified under the IPP, whose requirements included strict targets based on specific qualifications and conditions.