SM puts the spotlight on its thousands of micro, small and medium enterprise partners through its campaign “Kasama ng SM,” a collective effort across the company to provide immediate and long-term solutions to help businesses bounce back better.
“The Covid-19 pandemic impacted businesses, especially our MSME partners and the livelihood of many people throughout our network of services,” said Steven Tan, SM Supermalls president. “Indeed, these extraordinary circumstances need practical solutions to ensure business continuity for everyone.”
SM Supermalls kicked off Kasama ng SM with Farmers Produce, which helps farmers sell directly to SM customers, local food producers, and to the 180 restaurant members of RestoPH.
“Because of the pandemic, the livelihood of farmers has been affected. This will help farmers sell their produce to the consuming public and give shoppers the chance to buy fresh and nutritious items,” said Agriculture Secretary William Dar.
Desiree Macaraeg, one of the farmer entrepreneurs said, “I’m very happy, several restaurant owners came by,” as she shared her excitement and gratitude for the opportunity to bounce back.
Farmers Produce started its caravan last July 3 at SM Aura and will continue to go around SM malls in Metro Manila until December.
SM Supermalls also launched Wheels-on-the-Go, a program with the local government units that taps tricycle and jeepney drivers as partner delivery riders. Now throughout Luzon, about 1,000 riders have enlisted for Wheels-on-the-Go.
SM Supermalls also opened its doors to launch “BUYanihan,” a rallying campaign in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Association of the Filipino Franchisers, Inc. to encourage everyone to buy local,
“BUYanihan is aligned to SM’s mission to support and promote MSMEs,” Tan said. “SM traces its humble beginnings as a small shoe store and has grown in partnership with MSMEs for over 60 years now. As SM grew so did many of its MSME partners, providing jobs and livelihood to many Filipinos across the country.”
To date, SM has over 89,000 direct MSME partners.
SM Supermalls also helps MSMEs bounce back after any disaster by helping build their resilience through its efforts as a lead convener of Arise Philippines (Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies). SM also has a resilience center that serves as data storage and back-up facility for MSMEs and mall tenants. – Press release
April 20, 2024
