The national MSME Resilience Core Group (RCG), co-chaired by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), with the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF) and other partners, reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening the disaster resilience of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) recently.

The 2021 MSME Resilience E-Forum with the theme “Trabahong Sigurado, Negosyong Matatag, Kabuhayang Nagpapatuloy” presented the accomplishments and best practices of the MSME RCG and did a ceremonial signing of the Memorandum of Understanding among all the members of the group as they reaffirmed this public-private partnership and mapped out next steps to support small businesses.

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Another part of the forum showcased stories of hope and innovation in adapting to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Resource speakers including Engr. Cherrys Abrigo of Sierreza, VP Jaypee Soliman of UnionBank of the Philippines, and Dir. Nigel Ebba of Bellevue Hotels and Resorts shared their resilience initiatives and highlighted the benefits of community-supported agriculture and the importance of advancing fintech to support MSME resilience and ensuring productivity through workplace safety.

PDRF president Rene Meily enumerated some of the tools and resources developed to support small businesses including the MSME Guidebook for Disaster Resilience, the SIKAP (Synergizing Recovery Initiatives, Knowledge, and Adaptation Practices for MSMEs) digital hub, the Katatagan-in-a-Box mobile app, and the DIMATINAG comic book spotlighting business continuity.

“Here in the Philippines, if we can work together to promote and protect small businesses, we can save many of our fellow Filipinos from despair and desolation and lead them into the sunlight that surely awaits us all once this pandemic ends,” said Meily.