A few times hard work and perseverance alone do not guarantee success. Just throw in a little government support, in terms of training and financing, then the formula for success is complete.

For Gil Navarro owner and president of Masantol, Pampanga-based, Navarro Foods, this formula did wonders for him and his family. From an enterprise earning a measly P200 a day, today Navarro Foods is a multi million-peso industry.

Navarro Foods produces and packages 'taba ng talangka,' 'burong hipon,' 'burong dalag' and 'atsarang papaya' among others. He started out with a motley crew of seven employees but now they employ 35 full-time workers. With a loan of PhP 3.5 million from the government bank Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and another PhP 1 million from the government's Small Business Guarantee Fund, Navarro Foods is expanding its factory and its production to hit its demand especially in the export market.

About 750 allied workers or on call workers like 'talangka,' 'sugpo' and 'dalag' growers also benefit from the business Navarro started way back in 1978.

"It was only in 2002 that my business went full throttle with the DTI knocking at my doors to present opportunities and projects available for small businessmen like me. From then on, I started attending DTI trainings and seminars which contributed immensely to my knowledge of the business and from there, my business evolved into what it is today," Navarro said.

Navarro Foods, widely available in all domestic supermarkets and stores, now exports to Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Australia etc. and will further expand its international markets pending resolution of export permits.

Navarro attributes his huge success on the government's tireless efforts to support MSMEs. The DTI, providing training and seminars on micro, small and medium scale industries, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) on food manufacturing process, packaging and labeling systems, government banks like DBP and other lending institutions for financing and the government in general for providing a very conducive climate for small entrepreneurs.

The government, according to him, equipped him with all the necessary tools and financing support to make his business a success.

"Malaking bagay ang tulong ng pamahalaan para sa isang di nakapag-aral na tulad ko upang maging matagumpay." he said.

Navarro Foods is among the participating MSMEs at the One Town One Product trade fair and exhibit, and Negosyo seminar at San Nicolas, Lubao, Pampanga.

The fair and exhibit was visited recently by President Arroyo, who was presented an award and citation for her contributions to the growth of MSMEs.

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The government will most probably adopt the technology business incubation (TBI) program just to catch up with its neighbors that have taken greater strides in developing their start-up companies.

The TBI program started in early 1990s when it established the first technology business incubators mostly in the University of the Philippines (UP) campuses in Diliman, Los Baños and Miag-ao in Iloilo province.

"The sad thing is that after we have initiated the program, there was no sustained investment and initiative. While the Philippines was one of the countries here in Asia that went first into technology business incubation, there was no sustained effort," Science and Technology Undersecretary Fortunato dela Pena lamented.

As a result, the country has remained at low level of less than 10 in terms of the number of business incubators by the end of year 2000.

This was much lower compared to some neighboring countries which have already reached the 100 level mark, he pointed out in a forum, attributing this to their investments poured into technology business incubation.

Recognizing this fact, dela Peña said that already, a consortium of universities, the private sector and the local government sector is amenable to establishing incubators that will nurture start-up companies who are into innovations.

Apart from this, he said the government is undertaking another measure to stimulate the innovation environment in the country.

Dela Peña said a company is entitled to incentives even beyond the original period if it invests capital and hire more people.

"But this time they added as a criterion that which can enable a company to receive incentives when it is able to show the organizations involved that it has developed innovations as evidenced by patents approved here in the Philippines," he noted.

Moreover, dela Peña said they are investing more in human capital which is a key factor in innovation generation.

The DOST is running a research and development for technology program which provides scholarships for graduate studies in engineering and science and technology and pursues research studies for technological advancement.

The program involves a consortium of universities that offer mature engineering graduate courses including the Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, Mapua Institute of Technology, the Central Luzon State University, San Carlos University, the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, the University of the Philippines-Diliman and UP Los Baños.

Dela Peña said such program hopes to increase the number of people involved in research development.

He said the Philippines has the lowest statistics of scientific manpower per million population engaged in research development compared at least with the original members of ASEAN, excluding Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.

"This is a massive development program and we are happy to report that they are meeting their targets in terms of the numbers, in terms of quality and in terms of research output," he added.

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Visa International is now actively seeking opportunities to ally with mobile money transfer service providers in Africa, specifically Kenya, rather than open new trails.

Mobile money transfer services in the African country is one of the highest in the world, and it has introduced the otherwise unbanked population to a wide array of financial services.

At present, Visa has two million card clients in Kenya and it has no plans of slowing down in the advent of the unprecedented expansion of mobile banking.

Visa Sub-Saharan Africa Charles Niehaus tagged mobile banking as an opportunity. "We are therefore focusing on how we can align with them to further improve our services. So far we are working on various programs together," he said in a statement.

Niehaus says they are working on strategies aimed at linking their solutions to the mobile phone money transfer platforms and implement such services like opening up cross border remittance corridors which are limited in domestic schemes.

"Unlike mobile money transfer services, Visa has an advantage of enjoying global presence with its money transfer solution," he added.

Mobile phone money transfer services have made it easier for many people who were unbanked to enter into the banking space.

Visa is exploring ways for getting into mobile money transfer services business to merge informal and formal payments systems.

"Kenya is one of the many countries around the world facing the challenge of how best to bring unbanked individuals into the formal banking system," he articulates.

Visa products can promote transparency and accountability, reduce transaction costs and decrease the size of the gray or informal economy, all of which helps to stimulate economic and employment.

Niehaus said that use of cards could significantly help a country to grow its economy. "Through the research that we have undertaken over the past, we have realized that 10-percent increase in electronic payment can grow gross domestic product (GDP) by one percent," he claims, adding that electronic payments are critical when developing a strong, modern economy.

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Researchers of the Tarlac College of Agriculture have discovered new pest control for jatropha curcas, which is now being propagated all over the country for biofuel production.

The researchers, led by Dr. Manuelo Agsaoay, came up with biological control agents by studying for three years insect pests attacking jatropha curcas.

The assessment of critical pest damage showed that of the five identified insect pests attacking jatropha, three were confirmed as major pests — mealy bugs, aphids, and cutworms.

Agsaoay and his colleagues determined the efficacy of the coccinelid beetle as a predator of both aphids and mealy bugs.

According to the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD), aphid mortality gradually increased over three weeks and reached 28 percent in one treatment.

Concurrently, leaf damage resulting from aphid feeding was only slight, it added.

"On the other hand, the coccinelids significantly reduced the population of mealy bugs after only one week from release. As with the aphids, mortalities of mealy bugs increased slightly as feeding exposure increased," the PCARRD said.

In addition, prey populations decreased significantly as predation mortality values ranged from 50 percent to 60 percent, it said.

Meanwhile, another study found that jatropha does not hinder the reproduction of beneficial bacteria such as aerobic heterotrophs, free-living nitrogen fixers, and pseudomonads.

Behind study were researchers Marilyn Brown and Virgilio Villancio of the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology and the Agricultural Systems Cluster of University of the Philippines Los Baños’ College of Agriculture.

Their research showed that the plant encouraged fungal growth as proven by more vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi found in soil planted with jatropha.

Jatropha is considered as the best source of biofuel among the various plant-based fuel resources worldwide.

Jatropha curcas is a drought-resistant plant and has wide adaptability to varied climates and types of soil. Its seeds contain viscous oil of about 28 to 35 percent.

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Seek No More is happy to announce that an online contest for Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak trading cards has chosen its winners one day ahead the scheduled draw. All five qualified participants will receive a pair of the Limited Edition cards!

Each participant will also receive 300 ECs each as complementary prizes because they helped raise awareness for Kiva (http://www.kiva.org).

However, only three of the five will receive 5,000 ECs each (worth about US$ 12.00). A random system was used to draw the three winners and these are:

Gadget World
Live for Live
JezJo

The other two winners are:

Reyvateilia
From This Side

Seek No More just need to get the mailing address of all five participants. There is absolutely no cost on their part because shipping and handling cost will be shouldered by the sponsor. Just send your mailing address to this email: mimidelmail@yahoo.com.

Thank you very much because we really appreciate your visit on this site and for participating in a great cause with great people in the Blogosphere!

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It appears that consumers across the Asia/Pacific region are approaching the next six months with a steady sense of optimism. According to the latest MasterCard Worldwide Index of Consumer Confidence survey, eight of the fourteen markets polled reflected positive consumer sentiment looking ahead, with the Asia/Pacific region witnessing an overall increase in its consumer confidence index score from six months ago.

Now in its 18th year, the MasterCard Worldwide Index of Consumer Confidence is the region’s most comprehensive and longest running consumer confidence survey. Released twice a year, the index is based on a survey which measures consumer confidence on prevailing expectations in the market for the next six months based on five economic indicators: economy, employment, stock market, regular income and quality of life. The Index score is calculated with zero as the most pessimistic, 100 as most optimistic and 50 as neutral.

The latest survey was conducted from 15 March to 12 April 2010 and involved 10,503 consumers from 24 markets. Data collection was via internet surveys, personal, telephone and computer aided telephone interviews, with the questionnaire translated to the local language wherever appropriate and necessary.

Vietnam, Singapore and China continued to reflect higher consumer confidence compared to other markets in the region. Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan showed increased confidence in their regular income outlook as compared to six months ago.

Dr. Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, economic advisor, Asia/Pacific, MasterCard Worldwide said, "The Asia/Pacific region rebounded in economic growth as early as the second half of last year, and regional recovery has continued to gain traction this year. While consumers in this region were amongst the first to cut back drastically on discretionary spending 18 months ago, they now seem confident and ready to significantly increase their discretionary expenditures and reduce their precautionary savings. This stability of consumer confidence and rising consumption in Asia/Pacific therefore bodes well for stronger business investment through the rest of the year, thereby contributing to the momentum of recovery."

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