Three organizations namely Planters Development Bank (PDB) SME Solutions International Finance Corporation (IFC) and IBM Philippines, joined forces on May 28 in launching the enhanced version of the SME Toolkit at the Shangri-La Hotel, as part of its advocacy to empower the small to medium enterprises (SMEs) towards greater competitiveness in the local and especially the global market.
“The SME Toolkit website gives our Filipino small and medium enterprises the necessary tools and applications in managing and running their business better. Our role is more than just manage the contents of the SME Toolkit website but we also want our Filipino SMEs to know that there is such a site that they can go to and for them to really benefit from the various information, tools and applications made available,” said Bernadette Ratcliffe, treasurer of PDB SME Solutions in a media briefing.
The SME Toolkit (http://philippines.smetoolkit.org) is a program that gives opportunity to entrepreneurs and small businesses to learn how to implement the sustainable business management practices needed for growth in areas such as finance, accounting, business planning, international business, marketing, human resources or legal free of charge.
Among the specially designed free tools are: an online calculator that helps small businesses determine their readiness for financing; Free software to build a web site; Free business forms used for employee performance evaluations; Community tools such as online conferencing, blog capability, group calendars; Survey and quiz builders to help small businesses make decisions and a multilingual business directory to help small businesses link in the local, regional and global levels.
Dr. Luc Vaillancourt, program manager of International Finance Corporation (IFC), said the SME Toolkit is a step in the right direction because many of the SMEs around the world lack access to good business management practices. “Giving small businesses the information and new collaborative technologies they need will help them grow and prosper,” he said.
On a global scale, IFC has joined with local partners to launch the Toolkit in more than 17 languages through 32 countries, all of which can now take advantage of the more powerful version.
James Velasquez, country general manager of IBM Philippines, said information technology (IT) can be a powerful tool in transforming the lives of people especially belonging to the lower strata. By joining the World Bank through the IFC, Velasquez said IBM has developed a platform to enable SMEs around the world including the Philippines to access to tools that can grow their business. ”Poverty still lingers despite the growth the country has achieved in the past years,“ he said.
“IBM believes growth in the economy can be fueled by supporting the SME,” he added.
Since 2006, IBM has alloted more than $5 million to transform the previous site with open source technologies and interactive tools, business forms and management material. The enhanced platform now has social networking tools such as chat rooms and blogs to create a venue where SMEs can collaborate anywhere around the world.
Ratcliffe said the partnership with IFC was right because it shares the same objective in empowering the SMEs. Furthermore, she said the technological capabilities of IBM Philippines is a big boost to enable to develop a robust platform.
To complement the SME Toolkit, Ratcliffe said PDB SME Solutions has been promoting the platform since 2007 to key cities nationwide in a series of road shows to spread the word about SME Toolkit.
“As an affiliate of Plantersbank, the country's lead bank for SMEs, all our efforts are aligned with the bank's thrust of enabling the Filipino SMEs,” she said.