Plantersbank chairman and 2009 Entrepreneur of the Year Ambassador Jesus P. Tambunting said for economic growth to benefit 90 million Filipinos development must be SME-driven, inclusive, sustainable and self-reliant.
In his keynote at the recent 47th annual meeting of the Philippine Economic Society at Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Ambassador Tambunting called on the country’s policymakers, business leaders and thinkers to focus on SMEs as a driver for growth integrated with investments in infrastructure, agriculture and education.
“Our recovery should not be dependent on markets abroad and foreign investments,” according to Ambassador Tambunting. “With 90 million Filipinos, we have an already huge domestic market that is still fast growing.”
Many years of successful experience in assisting SMEs have proven that these businesses play a vital role in economic progress, Ambassador Tambunting said.
Improved infrastructure will facilitate movement of goods and services produced or needed by SMEs, promote travel and local tourism, thereby encouraging the establishment of allied SME industries, and spur economic activities across the country, he pointed out.
Ambassador Tambunting proposed that state-run Development Bank of the Philippines assume leadership in policy formulation and financing high-impact projects that involve high risks and require huge investments such as railways, expressways, ports, power generation and farm-to-market roads.
He also called on the Land Bank to take the lead in agricultural development, providing not only financing but also advisory services and more important, policy directions. “(The Land Bank) can be the source of funding for long-gestation projects, post-harvest facilities, irrigation systems, crop insurance and support for land reform and rural cooperatives,” he said.
Ambassador Tambunting said both the DBP and the Land Bank can perform a catalytic role by forming consortiums of foreign and local investors and contractors to jointly undertake these projects.
In addition, “better education, particularly of the young, will improve the quality of human capital and increase the capacity of SME workers and entrepreneurs to acquire new knowledge and skills and continue educating themselves,” Ambassador Tambunting noted.