Muntinlupa micro-entrepreneurs get 'Carinderia Kits' from DTI; mayor bags award
The Department of Trade and Industry-National Capital Region Office (DTI-NCRO) turned over “Carinderia Kits” to 75 food retailers and other micro-entrepreneurs in Muntinlupa to help them recover amid the ongoing pandemic.
DTI-NCRO Regional Director Marcelina Alcantara, Mayor Jaime Fresnedi, and Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon led the awarding ceremony of the Carinderia Kits worth P8,000 each to the beneficiaries of the Livelihood Seeding Program-Negosyo Serbisyo sa Barangay (LSP-NSB) at Muntinlupa Sports Complex Thursday.

The LSP-NSB is a program of the DTI that allows a wider reach of business development assistance by bringing government services closer to the people through partnerships between local government units and DTI officials.
It aims to provide an individual package of livelihood kits that contains items that can aid in the recovery of affected individuals during catastrophic events including health disasters like epidemic and pandemic.
Other services offered by the LSP-NSB include business registration assistance, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) counseling, product development, financing facilitation, market and business matching, trade promotion, investment promotion, business information and advocacy, training, seminars and workshops. LSP-NSB beneficiaries will undergo monitoring and evaluation to ensure the growth of their businesses.
Other officials who attended the ceremony were LSP-NSB National Program Manager Asec. Dominic Tolentino, Muntinlupa Local Economic and Investment Promotions Department chief Gary Llamas, and City Administrator Allan Cachuela.
Fresnedi thanked the DTI-NCR for providing assistance to local entrepreneurs. He said he is hoping that programs for micro-entrepreneurs in the city will help revive the stalled local economy due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
During the ceremony, DTI-NCRO officials also conferred the Certificate of Recognition to Fresnedi as Muntinlupa ranked No. 1 in the Resilience category among highly urbanized cities in the recent Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index.
The Muntinlupa City government, on the other hand, provides financing assistance to micro-entrepreneurs, and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through the Tulong Negosyo Program’s zero-interest loans (formerly "Dagdag Puhunan"). Muntinlupa is the first LGU to introduce the micro-financing program.
Tulong Negosyo caters to MSMEs and provides micro-finance assistance ranging from P2,000 up to P150,000 depending on the business capital ceiling and payment record of beneficiaries. The program aims to provide additional capital for business expansion for aspiring and established business owners in Muntinlupa.