DTI coffee hub to boost MSMEs
KORONADAL CITY — In support of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the regional office of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI-12) opened here this week a coffee shop with a “pasalubong center” showcasing goods from local enterprises in central Mindanao.
DTI-12 Director Flora P. Gabunales said the opening of TsokoKapetearia aims to connect coffee producers in Kidapawan, Tacurong, Koronadal, General Santos, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato, and Sarangani to external markets.
“We capacitate them (MSMEs) to become self-reliant and agents of social change,” she said of the café, which was originally planned for launching in 2021 but delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement Thursday, Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza, who chairs the Regional Development Council 12, said she will support the establishment of other TsokoKapetearia outlets in other provinces in the region to further capacitate MSMEs. — John Felix M. Unson