With businesses being hammered by the downturn due to pandemic restrictions, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI)-Muntinlupa is pushing to help enterprises in the city to sell their products online.
PCCI-Muntinlupa launched on Tuesday the WOW Munti MALL or Winning Online Wares-MSME Market Advocating Local Produce for Sustainable Livelihood for the Laden that aims to help micro, small, and medium enterprises reach out to customers through online marketing.
According to PCCI-Muntinlupa president, Elvie Sanchez-Quiazon, wide-ranging products will be offered for sale – from halal siomai, lumpiang sariwa, empanada, polvoron, fruits and vegetables, embroidered products, handicraft made by inmates at the New Bilibid Prison, bags to face masks. Buyers can shop online at https://www.wowmuntimallpcci.com/.
She said MSMEs started to feel the pinch when Taal volcano erupted in January. This was further aggravated when the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic began the following month.
“Some of them folded up, some are about to fold up, some could not survive, they could not even keep afloat. They were not earning well. There was one that really closed already,” Quiazon said.
Through the online marketing scheme, PCCI-Muntinlupa wants to help the affected sectors including the repatriated overseas Filipino workers, mothers, prisoners, farmers, and displaced workers.
Among the partners of PCCI-Muntinlupa in the program are the Muntinlupa City government, corporate companies, non-government organizations, and the NCR Alliance of TVET Schools and Associations-Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (NATSA-TESDA).
Part of the online selling program is the “DALI-very SERVICE” in which licensed tricycle drivers with no local franchise in Muntinlupa will deliver the products within the city. The drivers can also act as courier or messenger for companies and residents in subdivisions and villages.
“We will be the one to do the marketing. Their commitment is to make sure to reproduce quality products. We created this WOW Munti MALL not for business. What we thought was how the merchants can have sustainable business. The MSME is the backbone of our economy,” she said.
Quiazon said their aim is to inspire more entrepreneurs. “What we want is for them to earn. Our campaign is for people to appreciate the talents of Filipinos and to buy local products,” she added.