DOST launches showcase for MSME products

MANILA, Philippines — Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) can now showcase their products in a mobile and online store developed by the Department of Science and Technology.

The DOST launched last week the OneStore City app for Android users for their onestore.ph mobile and online store, to help entrepreneurs overcome the economic disruption from the coronavirus pandemic.

The project is supported by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry as well as Travellers International Hotel Group Inc. or the Resorts World Manila gaming and hotel unit of tycoon Andrew Tan under the umbrella of the #PinasMunaTayo! Movement, which aims to promote local products and tourist destinations to help revive the economy.

Science Secretary Fortunato dela Peña said the OneStore City app will provide a wider reach for locally produced products of MSMEs that were assisted by the DOST in regions through the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program or SETUP.

“There is no doubt that COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) has brought a severe impact on our country and the pandemic did not only put many lives on the line but it created a huge hole in our economy. The crisis is projected to cost us a very big amount particularly this year as firms shed profits and many workers lost their jobs,” Dela Peña said in an online press briefing for the launch of the OneStore City app for Android.

“Now as we all know, the MSMEs count as one of the most affected sectors,” Dela Peña said.

The OneStore City app is an upgraded version of the earlier OneStore app for Android smartphones developed by DOST under the onestore.ph program.

Ambassador Benedicto Yujuico, PCCI president, said that the Pinas Muna Tayo! Movement saw the onestore.ph project as a prime example of the use of innovation to help local producers and manufacturers.

“The PCCI is focused on the Innovation Nation (initiative). Any development, like this e-commerce web app, we’re very happy with this. When fully implemented, a lot of our MSMEs will be assisted,” Yujuico said.

Engineer Sancho Mabborang, DOST Region 2 regional director and OneStore.ph program national program manager, said the OneStore City app for Androids was designed and developed to provide a better, “effortless shopping experience” for consumers.

Currently, there are 12,100 products featured in the onestore.ph e-commerce platform.

“Coming very soon are the health and beauty products and the anti-COVID-19 products like face masks, face shields,” Mabborang said.

“At present, there are more than 360 MSMEs assisted nationwide, benefitting from onestore and still counting,” he said.

Maborang said the onestore.ph website was the fourth e-commerce used by online shoppers in the Philippines.

“As of June 2020, Lazada is the most used e-commerce platform in the Philippines. Globally, however, onestore ranks fourth. So we encourage everyone to prioritize our own,” he said.