THE Aquino administration plans to raise the contribution of micro, small and medium enterprises to the economy and create more jobs by 2016, the Department of Trade and Industry said on Thursday.

THE Aquino administration plans to raise the contribution of micro, small and medium enterprises to the economy and create more jobs by 2016, the Department of Trade and Industry said on Thursday.

Under the MSME Development Plan for 2011 to 2016, DTI Undersecretary Merly Cruz told reporters that the government plans to raise the economic contribution of MSMEs to 40 percent of gross value added from the current 37.5 percent.

The increase would make the Philippines at par with other countries in the region.In Indonesia, the share of MSMEs to gross domestic product is 53.28 percent; Vietnam, 39 percent; Thailand, 37.8 percent; and Malaysia, 32 percent.

Cruz said the plan also calls for generating two million jobs in the MSME sector by 2016.“This year, the government targets to create 340,000 jobs from the MSME sector,” she added.

The MSME sector accounted for 99.6 percent of total establishments in the country, and contributed 61.2 percent of the country’s total employment.

The 2011 to 2016 MSMED Plan focuses on addressing the critical constraints to the growth and development of the sector.

To develop a vibrant MSME sector, the blueprint envisions the implementation of measures to create an enabling business environment and provide government support not only to improve MSME access to finance and expand market access but also to strengthen productivity and competitiveness and linkage with large enterprises and value chain networks.

original source: The Manila Times