About EVFIC TBI-SSF

The Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) serve as the backbone of the Philippine economy, with 99.58% of the business in the country being MSMEs that generated 64.67% of the country’s total employment according to a 2021 report by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Despite the importance of their role, however, several factors hamper the MSMEs from achieving their full potential and expanding their market reach according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), such as financial constraints, inadequate market knowledge, and limited access to modern technology and innovative production techniques.

Part of the MSME Development Plan by DTI is the Shared Services Facility (SSF) Project, with the primary objective of advancing the productivity and efficiency of MSMEs through easy access to machinery, equipment, tools, systems, accessories, and other auxiliary items, skills, and knowledge under a shared system. The goal of this endeavor is to help beneficiary MSMEs achieve heightened production output, better product quality, and wider market reach – resulting in sales expansion, job generation, and poverty alleviation (DTI, 2023).

Aligned with its objective of contributing to the empowerment of the communities in Region VIII, Eastern Visayas State University takes part in the development of the MSMEs in Eastern Visayas by being a cooperator of the Eastern Visayas Food Innovation Center Technology Business Incubator – Shared Service Facility (EVFIC TBI-SSF) for Food Processing, inaugurated on 2018 with major stakeholders such as the Government of Canada through the Centre for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI) & TUKOD Project, Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and DTI. Said SSF project is equipped with water retort equipment and its ancillary equipment that conduct quality processing and appropriate packaging and labeling to help food processors (local food, snack food, sweets, and bakery sectors) in the Eastern Visayas region become GMP and HACCP compliant and be more globally competitive.