WE USUALLY hear about micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which the Department of Trade had effectively facilitated and, for the most part, helped them afloat in terms of financing and providing human resource training.
Talking of MSMEs, we can readily think of the size of workers and the size of assets as barometers of measurement. By the way, our economy is driven by the MSME, constituting practically 99 percent of domestic enterprises.
The Philippine Statistics Authority categorizes a micro-enterprise as having less than ten employees, small enterprise if 10-99 workers, medium when workers range between 100 to 199, and large if 200 or more.
The Philippines accounts for a total of 952,969 MSMEs, where the micro businesses account for 88.77 percent, small enterprises 10.25 percent, medium 0.49 percent, and the large comprise a measly 0.49 percent total. This translates to a 99.51 percent share of the MSMEs to total establishments.
In general, the MSMEs account for 62.66 percent of total employment. Micro enterprises contribute 29.38 percent to total employment, small enterprises account 25.78 percent of the total, and medium with 7.50 percent.
If we can put together the size of the MSME’s share to the whole industry and the industry’s contribution to employment, 99 percent size with employment contribution of 66 percent, then we can say we have a cap to our industry growth. Unless, of course, the share of the large industries to the whole industry starts to increase and gain traction by re-distributing operations to other areas other than NCR and Calabarzon.
In the whole preceding discussion, you may have noticed that the nano industry is nowhere categorically defined relative to the size of workers and assets.
Using the definition of the PSA, however, the nano enterprise can be recognized, hopefully in the offing, given the nature of this kind of enterprise.
Nano is found at the grassroots level as it is the entry point for individuals within the entrepreneurial system.
The nano industry differentiates itself from other industries and, at the same, integrates itself with the others.
Take note that if the individual engages in business, be it for self-employment, as freelance, or as a member of the independent workforce, there is a thin boundary in the interlink with the micro, small and medium enterprises.
Nano enterprise may also include freelance and individual professionals who wish to provide expertise in areas that are not supplied by the formal businesses owing to being largely technical, but such kind of individual engagement have with limited effect on the whole business operation.
In this instance, the business sees the costs as more than the return on investment and therefore relegated to the use of individual experts, the nano business.
And there are plenty of experts who are waiting for formal employment or have decided to leave formal employment. Just look at the grab business. The motorcycles are not from Grab but those owned by the riders themselves. And Grab offers the link for business with these individuals who have the unique skills to reach the farthest areas to deliver food in no time.
The Grab delivery business, the Grab riders are part of nano enterprises. They are small as there could only be a single rider, they may or may not have significant assets, and they rely heavily on their skills and services for their operation.
And we can prove to many other nano activities around. And let me again go back to my point, in the spectrum of business, the presence of nano business indicates a healthy enterprise ecosystem.
