21 July 2022, Iligan City - Local Economic and Investment Promotions Officer (LEIPO) Eileen E. San Juan presented the Cagayan de Oro experience at the Conceptualization Workshop for the Marawi Investment Promotion and Facilitation Center upon the invitation of the USAID Marawi Response Project (MRP) yesterday, July 20, 2021, at Monlan Suites, Iligan City.

Through the workshop, MRP sought to capacitate the Marawi City local government in investment promotion and facilitation, convening heads of key city government offices, members of the Bangon Marawi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BMCCI), and representatives of other development partners including non-government organizations like Balay Mindanaw Foundation, Inc., towards the creation and operation of the proposed Marawi Investment Promotion & Facilitation Center.

In the open forum that followed, Mr. Marlon Libot, Chief of Party of Plan International, USAID’s implementing partner for MRP, asked LEIPO San Juan if she could recommend concrete first steps that the City Government of Marawi might take towards the realization of their own investment promotion and facilitation center.

LEIPO San Juan responded that first people would have to be assigned and the work that they would do would have to be defined, citing as an example the beginnings of Cagayan de Oro’s Trade and Investment Promotions Center (Oro-TIPC), which started with just her and a staff of two (2) organic city government personnel detailed from other offices, plus the secretary of what was then the Promote Cagayan de Oro Foundation, Inc. (PROMOTE CDO, now PROMOTE NORMIN).

LEIPO San Juan also emphasized the importance of partnerships, which in Oro-TIPC’s case, came in the form of technical guidance from what was then the USAID Investment Enabling Environment (INVEST) Project, logistical support from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and collaboration with the private sector, including business chambers, civil society organizations and the academe.

The participants, which included the heads of Marawi City’s Public Employment Services Office (PESO), City Planning and Development Office (CPDO), and City Tourism Office, thanked LEIPO San Juan and the members of her team who presented with her, namely Simonette Sagaral for Investment Marketing, and Oxanna Custodio and Hanin Laguindab for Investor Services, for inspiring them to forge on despite the challenges they face in rebuilding their city.

MRP Economic Development Head Lauro Tito Ilagan encouraged, and LEIPO San Juan welcomed, the continuation of knowledge exchange between the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Marawi, both expressing excitement at the doors that an investment-enabling environment would open for Marawi City.

28 April 2021, Cagayan de Oro City—In a bid to put itself on the map as a food innovation hub, to connect with potential adopters, and to showcase the uniqueness and abundance of raw materials in Cagayan de Oro and the region, the Northern Mindanao Food Innovation Center (NMFIC) of the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines (USTP) today unveiled eight (8) new technologies in a Virtual Food Innovation Showcase.

The event was organized by the university’s Technology Promotions and Commercialization Office (TPCO), in partnership with the Departments of Trade and Industry (DTI), and Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the City Government of Cagayan de Oro, the Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Inc., and USAID Science, Technology, Research and Innovation for Development (STRIDE).

Pitched by an all-women crew of food technologists at the landmark event were the following transfer-ready technologies ripe for licensing:

Composition of Polvoron with Green Mango and Yam Bean	Composition of Soy (Glycine max L.) Singkamas (Pachyrhizus erosus) Cookies
Composition of Chayote (Sechium edule) Cookies	Composition of Chayote (Sechium edule) Calamansi Concentrate
Composition of Ready-to-Cook Mixed Fruit with Coconut Milk (Composition and Process of Preparing)	Composition of Instant Fish Viand Pack
Composition of Sibujing Powder	Composition of Chili Garlic in Oil with Color Retention

12 March 2021, Cagayan de Oro City—Local Economic and Investment Promotions Officer (LEIPO) Eileen San Juan, is set to share how the Cagayan de Oro Trade and Investment Promotions Center (Oro-TIPC) has been helping women entrepreneurs and other micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) ride out the pandemic by hitching onto the booming digital economy.

The online forum titled “Pinaypreneurs Rise to the Digital Challenge,” was organized by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity (SURGE) Project, under the USAID SURGE Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative (WGDP) Initiative in collaboration with Globe myBusiness.

Completing the all-female circle for this fireside Q&A are Cathy Torremocha, City Administrator of Tagbilaran; Adelyn Yucamco, of the General Santos City Economic Management and Cooperative Development Office; Willem Ma, CEO of Masuki, the oldest and most famous noodle shop in Binondo, Manila’s Chinatown; and Roberta Abada-Estacion, Managing Director of Harem, Inc., a hair management salon.

LEIPO San Juan is set to feature Oro-TIPC’s initiatives to help MSMEs pivot, especially the Ginamâ Entrepreneurial Development Center for Women, which was launched last year with the support of USAID SURGE and the W-GDP, which capacitates women in business to compete, access financing, engage in e-Commerce and digital marketing, participate in trade fairs, and ultimately export.

Ginamâ, first opened last 15 June 2019, the 49th anniversary of Cagayan de Oro’s charter, as a business development and marketing center for Cagayan de Oro’s and Region 10’s MSMEs.

It is recognized by the Department of Trade and Industry as a One-Town-One-Product Philippines Hub (OTOP.PH), and is operated by a woman-led private sector partner.

Ginamâ Entrepreneurial Development Center for Women just launched its second round of workshops for MSMEs in Business Continuity and Recovery, Business Plan Preparation—two (2) prerequisites for credit access, Marketing through Social Media, eCommerce Websites and Digital Marketing, and Applying for Loans.

A small business information and research portal is currently being developed to serve as a repository of the knowledge materials from these workshops for MSMEs to access.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity (SURGE) Project is helping its local partners implement important interventions that accelerate economic recovery amid the continuing pandemic.

Under the USAID-SURGE Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative (WGDP), the Project is providing technical assistance to women entrepreneurs and other MSMEs to access digital tools and business support services to maximize market opportunities.

SURGE Project, in partnership with QuadX, invites you to a webinar entitled “Innovative Logistics and Cashless Payment Solutions” which will be held on February 5, 2021 from 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm via Zoom.

In this webinar, you will learn about emerging e-business trends on logistics and how QuadX, through GoGo Xpress and XPay, can support your logistics needs and e-payment requirements with a step-by-step guide on its onboarding process.

The proposed program is as follows:

2:00 – 2:10 pm    Introduction and Opening Messages

2:10 – 2:20 pm    Emerging business trends on Logistics and e-payments

2:20 – 2:40 pm    GoGo Xpress services and onboarding process

2:40 – 3:00 pm    XPay services for cashless transactions

3:00 – 3:50 pm    Shipping and Packaging Consultation Forum

3:50 – 4:00 pm    Synthesis and Closing

The session will be held via Zoom that will require an Internet connection.

To register and join the session, please access the following link: https://bit.ly/3j9jvUZ.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity (SURGE) Project, in partnership with Lazada, is conducting a virtual “Orientation on Lazada’s Onboarding Process for MSMEs” on 14 January 2021, 2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. via Zoom (register here: http://bit.ly/LazadaOnboarding011421).

This activity is part of the USAID-SURGE’s Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (WGDP) initiative for which Cagayan de Oro has been handpicked as one of only a few pilot cities.

During the orientation, MSMEs will learn about Lazada’s extensive market reach and how to take advantage of this online portal with a step-by-step guide on its onboarding process.

Participants will also get a chance to win free product photography services from Lazada.

CDO as CDI

Cagayan de Oro has long been a CDI (Cities Development Initiative) partner city of the USAID, one of only three (3) at the outset (with Batangas and Iloilo), joined by five (5) more (General Santos, Legazpi, Puerto Princesa, Tagbilaran and Zamboanga) in recent years.

Together, USAID through the SURGE Project, and the City of Cagayan de Oro, through the Cagayan de Oro Trade and Investment Promotions Center (Oro-TIPC), have worked together to promote economic growth, champion education, improve resilience, and support health.

Rise of MSMEs

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the plight and unique position of local MSMEs came to light.

While micro, small, and medium entrepreneurs (MSMEs) bore the brunt of the economic toll exacted by mobility restrictions and brick and mortar shutdowns, increasing reliance on local suppliers also opened up a wealth of opportunities for the humble but hulking sector (forms more than 99% of businesses registered on both local and national levels).

As early as 2019, USAID-SURGE and Oro-TIPC had begun focusing on MSMEs as a special attention sector.

In June 2019, the day Cagayan de Oro marked its 69^th year as a Chartered City, Oro-TIPC and the Region 10 Office of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), in partnership with a private operator, opened One-town-on-product Philippines Hub|Ginamâ (OTOP.PH|Ginamâ), a local MSME product showroom and store.

Later that year, USAID-SURGE and Oro-TIPC began training MSMEs in formulating business continuity plans (BCPs). With the advent of the pandemic in 2020, the partners quickly shifted to capacitating MSMEs for business success in the new normal.

This orientation is one of many such initiatives to push the MSME to level up and participate on the larger business stage with the end in view of promoting entrepreneurship as the ticket to better quality of life. n