LIVELIHOOD ASSISTANCE

The government has been funding livelihood programs for many years now, but it seems to me that generally speaking, there are very few success stories to tell as far as this area of performance is concerned. As I see it now, it seems that the problem lies in the fact that the government has not been able to address the complete supply chain needs of program beneficiaries. Fortunately for all of us, there are public-private sector cooperation (PPC) programs that are working in place to make up for what is lacking.
**
Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) is a private and non-profit foundation dedicated to promoting business sector commitment to social development. It was established in 1970 by 50 of the country’s prominent business leaders at that time, and has since then become the country’s largest business-led social development foundation. After three decades, PBSP is now planting new seeds- now numbering about 180 corporate members, charting new directions and creating active responses to the challenges posed by the times. It has also become a shining example of the PPC approach in the Philippines.
**
The Corporate Volunteers for Enterprise Development (CVED) is a unique business advisory service that is sponsored by PBSP. It aims to strengthen small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) by providing access to technology and expertise to small entrepreneurs through volunteer business advising. CVED is a partnership between the Canadian Executive Services Organization (CESO) with funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). CVED helps facilitate a perfect match for entrepreneur beneficiaries seeking business management pointers from its pool of business advisers. In effect, CVED has established an organized way of providing strategic business advice to Filipino entrepreneurs.
**
In the CVED approach, entrepreneurs will work directly with committed volunteer expert advisers with skills and expertise important to the success of business operations. They will help provide advice for a specific business need to help expand operations of the business or overcome specific difficulties. Already up and running, CVED has ongoing pilot projects in Pampanga, Cebu, Bohol and Davao.
**
Among the CVED services are marketing management, production management, organization and management, financial management and information and communications technology. It is important to note at this point that PBSP has a separate program for financing. That is one good thing about the PBSP approach, as they have dedicated programs for specific needs. In the case of CVED for instance, it is able to focus specifically on advising, without having to worry about the financing needs of its clients. The Small and Medium Enterprise Credit Program (SMEC) is the wholesale lending facility of PBSP. It aims to provide access to micro, small and medium enterprises outside Metro Manila using thrift and rural banks as funding conduits. Aside from credit, SMEC provides business support services to help improve productivity and competitiveness of entrepreneurs.
**
CESO is a private, not for profit Canadian organization of expert business advisers providing assistance to small and medium scale enterprises, businesses, communities and organizations. It has over 3,000 volunteers with solid experience in more than 150 professional, management and technical areas who serve as advisers, trainers and mentors to clients all over the world. In a way, CVED with its 300 experts has become the local counterpart of CESO.
**
I was very happy to meet Mr. Felix Tonog, the Area Manager of PBSP and his colleague, Ms. Rowena (Weng) Rivera, the Corporate Volunteer Coordinator of PBSP. Our meetings made me feel a little bit nostalgic, because I remembered my stint at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), where I headed the Transfer of Knowledge through Expatriate Nationals (TOKTEN) Program, a partnership between DFA and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). I also remembered my stint at the Ministry of Human Settlements (MHS), where I served as Group Product Manager of Bliss Marketing Corporation (BMC) and also as a Marketing Consultant (Fellow) of the University of Life (UL). All told, there are many similarities between the approach of CVED, TOKTEN, BMC and UL in serving SMEs. Thanks to Felix and Weng, they have readily agreed to guest in my new radio show, together with the volunteers and clients of CVED. By the way, check out http://senseneres.blogspot.com/