DoST boosts metals, engineering firms through zero-interest SETUP loans

The Department of Science and Technology (DoST) is helping businesses in the metals and engineering sector adopt new technologies through zero-interest financing under its small enterprise program, with one beneficiary in Ilocos Norte reporting improved productivity.

The Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP) is the agency’s flagship program for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), providing financial and technical assistance to help them acquire appropriate technologies.

DoST Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. told BusinessWorld that eligible MSMEs can receive up to P5 million in assistance. The amount is repayable over three years, with repayment beginning after the first year and carrying 0% interest.

“With the SETUP program, our real goal is to help MSMEs become bigger,” Mr. Solidum said during a project site visit in Ilocos Norte on Thursday. “If they started as small, we want them to become medium.”

AutoNorte, an auto parts and accessories trading business based in Batac, Ilocos Norte, is among the beneficiaries of the SETUP program, having received P1.1 million in assistance to acquire additional equipment.

The equipment includes a four-post lifter, tire changer, wheel balancer, and high-precision computerized wheel alignment machine.

The DoST said the business has recorded productivity improvements, including cutting service time in half, increasing its number of clients by 30%, expanding its service volume by 50%, and creating three additional jobs.

“Through the equipment, they can already offer faster service while ensuring that they continue earning and expanding their product offerings on their own,” Mr. Solidum said in Filipino, citing the benefits of the program for the company.

The DoST Secretary also said that the agency is helping MSMEs expand beyond the support provided under the SETUP program through its recent partnership with the Land Bank of the Philippines, enabling qualified beneficiaries to access additional financing after undergoing the agency’s evaluation and endorsement process.

Apart from the metals and engineering sector, the DoST’s SETUP also supports MSMEs in priority industries such as food processing, agriculture and aquaculture, furniture manufacturing, textiles, health products, information and communications technology (ICT), among others.

Since the program’s inception in 2002, it has assisted more than 100,000 MSMEs, DoST said. — Edg Adrian A. Eva