The ongoing 12th Negros Business Expo has provided a venue for micro-enterprises to promote and sell their products amid the economic slump brought by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

A joint project of the Province of Negros Occidental and the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI), a total of 19 producers are optimistic about doing good business during the 17-day expo at Robinsons Place Bacolod, which started April 16 and will end on May 2.

“The expo has served as a venue for local producers, especially micro-enterprises and entrepreneurs, to promote their products and brands, and has given them the opportunity to generate additional income they need amid the pandemic,” MBCCI chief executive director Frank Carbon said in a statement on Thursday.

As of April 25, the participating businesses have generated sales of almost PHP500,000.

The micro-enterprises selling locally-made food and other goods are from different towns and cities in Negros Occidental.

“Supporting local entrepreneurs by buying their products will contribute to hastening the economic recovery of the province,” Carbon said, adding that micro-enterprises are the ones giving employment to their neighbors.

Carbon, also the vice president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the Visayas, said the country is having a hard time moving forward because the economic recovery is on “stop and go” status due to the community quarantine measures implemented in light of the continuing threat posed by Covid-19.

In seeking post-pandemic solutions, there is a need to look for the source of economic growth especially in the rural areas that need more help, he added.

Carbon said that about 30 percent of the money that goes to urban areas comes from the rural areas thus these entrepreneurs should be immediately rehabilitated by giving them funding sources.

This year’s expo is themed “Finding Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow”. (PNA)