MANILA – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Metro Retail Stores Group, Inc. (MRSGI) have forged a partnership to help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) access the mainstream market.
DTI and MRSGI launched Tuesday the “Bayanihang Metro x Go Lokal” initiative that will give free space for Filipino MSMEs in two flagship supermarkets of MRSGI —the Metro Market! Market! In Taguig City and the Metro Ayala Center Cebu.
DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez said the Go Lokal now has 20 retail partners since its inception in 2016.
A total of 144 Go Lokal stores were rolled out nationwide.
The program has helped 788 home-grown brands to access areas with high foot traffic.
“Of these numbers, 352 MSMEs have already been mainstreamed and become regular suppliers of our retailer partners,” Lopez said.
For the two Metro Retail Stores, they will feature six home-grown products such as ready-to-eat mushroom products of Nagaños Farm Corp., pure honey wine and honey fruit wine of Dielle’s Apiary and Meadery Inc., seafood cracklings of KXC Enterprises, coconut milk of Cocoplus Aquarian Development Corp., vegetable chips of Take Root Food Corner, and corioso and Tablea de Marietta of Mayette’s Native Food products.
Lopez said the DTI continues to adopt initiatives that will help MSMEs to grow amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
“In the wake of Covid-19 pandemic, we stepped up the digitalization efforts of our Go Lokal program and partnered with online platforms by making our locally-made products become more accessible to the buying public,” he added.
MRSGI president and chief operating officer Manuel Alberto said the “Bayanihang Metro x Go Lokal” initiative supports the growth of Filipino MSMEs.
Alberto also commended DTI’s “Buy Local, Go Lokal!” initiative as this will help in local job generation amid the pandemic.
“We call on our people to join us in this collective effort at sabay sabay tayong maging ‘Champions of all things Filipino’. Tangkilikin po natin ang sariling atin upang tayo ay sama-samang makapag-build back better tungo sa isang mas maunlad na post-pandemic future (and together, let us all be ‘Champions of all things Filipino’. Let’s patronize our own products so we can build back better towards a more prosperous post-pandemic future),” Lopez said. (PNA)