Call center to aid MSMEs mulled

CEBU, Philippines - The Filipino Cebuano Business Club Inc. will soon have its own call center for the local Micro Small and Medium Enterprises in Cebu.

FCBCI Chairman Rey Calooy said that the call center, which they will be starting once they transfer to their new office in the first quarter of next year, would assist their member MSME players to accommodate more of their customers and interested clients.

Calooy said that the MSME call center would entertain calls from clients who are looking for certain services and products and they would refer them to the MSME players who are offering the services they are looking for thereby helping small entrepreneurs gain more clients.

Calooy also said that they could entertain the existing customers of their members and accommodate the needs of their clients for them if they do not have their own offices.

He said that this is to help those MSME players who do not have the capacity to rent their own offices, buy their own equipments, and hire their own employees to attend to their clients.

According to Calooy, for catering services for example, they could answer inquiries on what kind of food is being served on the company’s menu, the date to have the service and other needed information.

He said that this is their way of strengthening the MSME industry which is continually growing by the years. Calooy said that this is also their way of helping the entrepreneurs reinforce their presence amidst the big players.

A minimum monthly fee P1000 will be collected from the MSME players for the operation of the MSME call center, which will be used to pay the salary of the call center agents and other needed facilities.

Calooy said that this is relatively small amount that will rake in good returns for the MSMEs, such as helping them advertise their services and help them gain more clients. He said the business players could have deals done and have new clients even if they are out of town and not able to attend to the inquiries of probable customers.

As of now, Calooy said they are collecting more data from their members and consolidating their database for the start of the call center next year.

Also, through the new office where they will be catering to the needs of more MSME players, Calooy said that they hope to make it a “business incubator” where they could help those still starting in the industry grown and guide them on what they should do to have their businesses grow and progress.

Calooy said they see a great potential for MSME players in Cebu even those who are still starting in the industry. He said this is even the reason why they are strengthening their business education activities in schools for students where a lot of them are interested in starting their own businesses.

According to Calooy, they had a good feedback from the younger generation when they had business seminars and forums in schools this year and some have even started their own businesses already.

Calooy said that this is a good indication of the growing industry and that they are glad to see that a lot are starting off in the business very young.— AJ de la Torre