Microenterprise sustainability: A Philippine perspective

Issue Date

1-2010

Abstract

© Joseph Mark S. Munoz 2010. Jeanette Angeline Banzon Madamba1 INTRODUCTION Philippine micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have been made the cornerstone of economic development efforts as a result of its potential for employment generation and poverty alleviation. MSMEs comprise more than 99 percent of all Philippine registered enterprises with microenterprises accounting for 92 percent of all enterprises. These firms contribute to about 67 percent of the total employment and provide an added economic value of approximately 25 percent. These statistics exclude the informal sector which, according to Sibal (2007), accounts for about 50 percent of all enterprises. This chapter provides an overview of Philippine microenterprises and institutional linkages, offers an updated profile of microenterprises by activity sector, describes microenterprise start-up, growth and development, and discusses key success factors, issues, and impediments for microenterprise sustainability. A proposed agenda for action is offered. A case study on a cluster of nipa palm vinegar microenterprises is presented to address the research questions and complement the insights drawn from secondary data. In view of the changing trends in the business environment resulting from the recent global financial meltdown, microenterprise sustainability issues and its evaluation require utmost attention. VIEWPOINTS ON SUSTAINABILITY The following section highlights the current thinking on sustainability. Sustainability vs Self-Sufficiency A special report on “The Business of Sustainability” presented by the MIT Sloan Management Review and the Boston Consulting Group research 288 Microenterprise sustainability: a Philippine perspective 289 team indicated that there is no common definition for sustainability as a result of a broad diversity of….

Source or Periodical Title

Contemporary Microenterprise: Concepts and Cases

Page

288-299

Document Type

Book Chapter

Language

English

Digital Copy

yes

Link to Full Text

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