Manila, Philippines – SM Supermalls, one of the largest shopping mall chains in the country, has launched its latest initiative for MSMEs which entails providing ‘The SM StartUp Package’ that will give support for 100 local small business owners to set up physical shops across its select prime mall locations across the country.
Through ‘The SM StartUp Package’, SMB owners will be offered with affordable rental rates and use of kiosks or carts free of charge, marketing assistance to give the brand free exposure in SM online assets and ad spaces inside malls as well as financial assistance with retail bank BDO; and mentorship from SM experts on operations and marketing.
This package will be available to the first 100 digital-based MSME owners who currently don’t have a shop inside SM or any other physical store in general.
The program, which was first announced last 15 October, coincides with the birthday of SM’s founder, the late Henry Sy, who started SM or ShoeMart as a small shoe business store in 1958. SM said that such small beginnings of the late Filipino businessman has been deeply ingrained in their DNA, understanding the potential of each Filipino to be a successful business owner.
The Start Up Markets, as they will be called, will be situated in prime mall locations within 13 regional and premier malls in major cities: SM North Edsa, SM Megamall, SM Mall of Asia, SM Southmall, SM Pampanga, SM Clark, SM Grand Central, SM Sta. Rosa, SM City Cebu, SM Iloilo, SM Bacolod, SM CDO Downtown Premier, and SM Lanang Premier.
Steven Tan, the president of SM Supermalls, commented, “We created The SM StartUp Package because we saw how Filipinos persevered in the past year. Very much true to the spirit of Henry Sy, who always said he worked harder during bad times, many MSMEs did not let the pandemic stop them from providing good service and products — even from their own homes.”
He added, “We want to give them a chance to further grow their businesses and brands, and enable them to start their own SM shops which they can one day grow into business empires, just like our founder once did.”
Interested MSMEs may visit the SM Supermalls website and SM’s social media pages to find out how to sign up for the package.
