Business Development

Services for Filipino MEs

Summary of the BDS Conference

“Taking Microenterprises to the Next Level”
Bacolod City, 14-16 May 2008
Knowing the “lay of the land” of BDS

Who are doing what in BDS for Filipino

MEs?

What seems to work and what needs
more work?

What lessons were learned?

What are key opportunities for
collaboration?
 Who are doing what in BDS?

What is BDS – Business Development Services?

Non-financial services

Microfinance institutions need to ensure that the
appropriate support is provided to clients, so they can
gain the skills needed to successfully and
continually operate their businesses. (Susan
Henry)

Tools to increase household income, stabilize that
income to make the poor households less
vulnerable through microenterprise development
(Ronald Chua)

BDS refers to a wide range of services used by
entrepreneurs to help them operate efficiently and
grow their business with the broader purpose of
contributing to economic growth, employment
generation, and poverty alleviation (TSKI)
 Who are doing what in BDS?

Some Intervention Categories

• Macro level – stable economy, policy reform,
etc.
• Meso level – interventions to improve industry
structure to make it more friendly to small scale
players.
– Policies
– Common service facilities
• Micro level – interventions at the enterprise level
– Training
– Consultancy
– Market linkage
– Technology transfer, etc …
 Who are doing what in BDS?

Categories for BDS programs:

I. Delivery mechanisms
A. Training, coaching and mentoring
B. Research and consulting

II. Business activity targeted

A. Product Development and Marketing
B. Consolidation and Distribution
C. Innovative Business Models
 What works in BDS?
I. Delivery mechanisms
A. Training, coaching and mentoring
B. Research and consulting

PBSP Business Advisory Program (CESO, CIDA)

Volunteer advisers from industry

Knowledge transfer through mentoring, coaching – Org mgt,

marketing, finance, Production & Opns Mgt, Info Tech.
Notre Dame Business Resource Center

Training and mentoring– entrepreneurial skills

Tapping university teachers, MBA students, local entreps

UP ISSI – Training, Research and Consultancy Services

Research and consulting – e.g. diagnostics in manufacturing
Microfinance literacy program - with government
 PBSP-BAP
Helping micro and small enterprises
grow through business advising.
Notre Dame Business Resource Center
 What works and what needs more work
in BDS?
II. Business Activity Targeted
A. Product Development and Marketing

SDC Asia

Value Chain (Industry) Analysis – Cardava Bananas

Market driven production improvement

Taytay sa Kauswagan Inc (TSKI)

Kauswagan Design and Packaging Center - common service
facility & laboratory for design and packaging

Market matching – trade fairs, marketing van, K-store,
Trade Center
PagASA (Phil. Amalgamated Supermarkets Association)

Mainstreaming competitive ME products in commercial retail
marketing outlets
TSKI Kauswagan Design and Packaging Center
 What works and what needs more work
in BDS?

II. Business Activity Targeted

B. Consolidation and Distribution

Upland Marketing Foundation, Inc. (UMFI)

Domestic “niche” or developing market for “champion
products” organic rice, muscovado and “rider products”;
Market “intelligence”

Distribution in supermarkets and convenience stores

Catholic Relief Services – Normin Veggies

Vegetable supply chain analysis - “quality handling”

Clustering (geographical, product)

Upland Marketing Foundation, Inc

Food Laboratory
Lettuce Cluster

Catholic Relief Services & Normin Veggies

 What works and what needs more work
in BDS?

III. Business Activity Targeted

C. Innovative Business Models
Pinoy Delikasi

Internet or web-based marketing - customer orders;
shopping cart; payment solution

Specialty products for niche market – Filipinos abroad

Hapinoy Stores – “Sari-sari store chain”

Lead store – satellite stores for merchandise distribution

“grow the store” with adjunct microenterprises (e-cash)

Partnerships with big businesses

Smart E-Load and Smart Money Cash Management

ICT enabled loan disbursement & collection

Real time transaction monitoring (retailer-branch-head

office)
Jovel Cipriano
Founder
Pinoydelikasi.com

PINOYDELIKASI
“Your convenient
Filipino delicacy store.”
SMART Centers = New Business Models –
Phase 2 “Building Eco-Systems”

SmartBro / Smart Money

Retailers • eLoad
• Smart Money Services
• Public Calling Office
• Internet Services

• Microfinance Solution
• Product Aggregation

• From Phone to PC interfaces

What needs more work in BDS?

Points of intervention in the value

chain – segment the clients

Lag time between intervention and
application – markets change swiftly

Sustainability of BDS services –
modes of payment
Lessons learned
1. Know what clients need and what
interventions are appropriate for their
needs and circumstances
2. Segment by product or service and by
scale of enterprise
• each product or service has unique
value chain challenge
• match supplier capacity with market
demand
Lessons learned
3. How did the BDS organization try to
increase HH/enterprise incomes?
o Production efficiency – clustering,
production scheduling (vegetables)
o Consolidation – buyers talk to only one
entity
o Target market information is crucial
4. How can BDS expand reach?
o Entrepreneurs as trainers
o Value chain analysis and industry studies
o Research to understand the 1-2% growth-
oriented MEs
Next Steps for Collaboration

Strengthen coordination with mainstream
business (link to CSR)

Strengthen linkages with marketing
organizations; encourage the latter to take MEs
into their portfolio

Establish viability of business service center
models and encourage replication

Set up business incubators for new business
models

Work with business schools and educators
associations to tap their resources (knowledge,
training, research & consulting)
Maraming Salamat Po!

Veronica F. Villavicencio
for PinoyME and Peace and Equity Foundation