By Leilanie Adriano/PNA
LAOAG CITY — The 23rd staging of the Partuat ti Kailokuan Trade Fair continues to attract buyers with unique and quality products from 32 exhibitors in Region 1.
Organized by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the annual trade fair which runs from December 17 to 23, 2018 at the Robinsons Mall activity center in San Nicolas town, aims to showcase the unique craftmanship and ingenuity of Ilocanos in this northern gateway of Luzon and to share best practices with fellow micro, small and medium entrepreneurs (MSMEs).
According to DTI Provincial Director Benjamin Garcia, the trade fair is also the agency’s way of boosting the entrepreneurial spirit of MSMEs as business experts from the field, through its Kapatid Mentor ME (KMME) program.
KMME program aims to assist MSMEs scale up and sustain their businesses through weekly coaching and mentoring by business owners and practitioners on different functional areas of entrepreneurship.
Some of the modules offered include topics on Marketing, Financial Management, Human Resource Management, Operations Management among others. This is a priority program of the national government through the DTI in partnership with Go Negosyo to serve as the entrepreneurs’ guide to a globally competitive enterprise.
“To qualify as a mentee, the entrepreneur should be a business owner or manager of an enterprise with an asset of Php3 million and below, operating for at least one year,” said Garcia.
The genuine quality products of the Ilocanos ranging from wood furnitures, process food products, abel iluko, ornamental plants, handicrafts and souvenir items are exhibited to buyers.
For a mother like Arlene Rosario from Batac, Ilocos Norte, she said buying local products gives her a sense of pride and excitement as these can be at par with other products from abroad.
“The wood furnitures and the various products from abel iluko are just so amazing. The designs are very creative, and it suits our lifestyle,” said Rosario.
With the help of various government agencies, MSMEs here are expanding their product lines based on customer demand.
“I am thankful for DTI for the learning experiences and for providing us an avenue to improve and promote our products. By participating in trade fairs like this, we do not only sell our products, we also develop linkages with fellow entrepreneurs and prospective clients and business partners,” said Agnes Asuncion, a former Overseas Filipino Worker who is now engage in dragon fruit farming and processing among others.