The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is eyeing P1 billion in budget for its shared service facilities (SSF) program in 2021 and catch up with its activities briefly interrupted by the pandemic.
DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez said the agency also hopes to secure a reasonable transfer rate in interest for the 349 cooperatives that are acting as conduits for the SB Cor p.’s lending program, the COVID-19 Assistance to Restart Enterprises CARES.
In his speech at the Cooperative Day event of the House of Representatives and the Cooperative Development Authority, Lopez said the DTI hopes to restore for 2021 f the P500 million SSF budget originally allotted this year but was returned and unutilized because of the new coronavirus disease 2019.
He said the DTI hopes to get another P500 million for 2021 to reach out to more micro, small and medium enterprises such as those that belong to the 839 cooperative partners of the SSF program.
Lopez acknowledged the role of cooperatives in reaching out to more small businesses as they have a wide network of constituents, He said the Philippine Trade Training Corp. is looking at special programs and modules tailor-fit to the needs of cooperatives.
