SM StartUp at SM City officially opened yesterday, March 4, 2022.
This program of SM Supermalls is a nationwide effort to help select Filipino micro and small entrepreneurs catch their break at the biggest mall chain in the country.
In SM City Iloilo, seven 100 percent homegrown entrepreneurs were featured – Oils for You, Greeny Granny, J’s Cookies and Pastry Shop, Pixie Hollow, The Baker’s Kitchen, Aiz Craft Creations and Saigon Brewers.
The opening was graced by Ruby Melliza, OIC-Division Chief of the Business Development Division of the Department of Trade and Industry 6 and Fulbert Woo, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Iloilo.
The StartUp Market gives homegrown brands an opportunity to step up and take advantage of the opportunities like free marketing and mentorship assistance to help their businesses grow. They are also provided booths in strategic locations in the malls.
“SM Super Malls believe in the drive and passion of our MSMEs because like them we started as MSME and thanks to the perseverance of our founder, the late Henry Sy Sr. or Tatang as we fondly call him and the help he received from family and friends we have grown into SM SuperMalls we know today. So as a way of giving back, we set up an MSME Start Up Package,” said Engr. Gilbert Domingo, SM City Iloilo Mall Manager.
SM Supermalls has stepped in to help these budding micro microentrepreneurs by offering a space at their malls with a chance to take their venture to a mainstream market, to nurture and support small businesses and mentor these owners in their expansions.The booths are located at the lower ground floor Northpoint area(near Café Iloilo) where shoppers can check out the various offerings of The StartUp Market.DTI-6 Regional Director Rebecca M. Rascon, meanwhile, lauded SM City for this program.
In her message read by Melliza, Rascon said that through this SM StartUp Market program, DTI has found a partner in promoting the welfare and continuous development of the MSMEs to be innovative, creative, resilient, strong, assertive in this trying times.
“By nurturing and supporting micro-entrepreneurs from across the country by offering them multi-dimensional opportunities and mentoring programs to grow their businesses are what we need in this time of pandemic,” Rascon emphasized.
Woo, on the other hand, thanked SM SuperMalls for the opportunity given to the MSMEs sector.
“I see young ones here doing business early and I’m sure with partnering with SM, may pakadtuon kita tanan. As our mayor and our organization said, maintaining the leadership in business and camaraderie of the programs in the city, we will recover together. Padayon lang kita sa pagbulig,” said Woo./PN
