The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Bohol stages a hybrid trade exhibit called Mugnang Bol-anon that will be held at the Island City Mall (ICM).This will also be captured through live streaming on social media spanning six days from July 26 to 31, 2021, according to DTI Bohol’s provincial director Marisol Balistoy.
In a telephone interview, Balistoy said the event is a modification of the DTI’s activity during the Sandugo festivities.
Prior to the pandemic, the DTI Bohol puts up the Sandugo Trade Fair where sellers and buyers converge at the ICM.
With the pandemic and restrictions on mass gatherings, Balistoy said that the agency is still looking at all possibilities to promote the products of Boholano micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) through alternative means that would comply with health and safety protocols.
The latest exhibit aims to launch new products produced under the One Town One Product (OTOP) development project.
PROTOCOL RESTRICTIONS
The need to comply with protocol gave rise to the hybrid pop-up trade exhibit called Mugnang Bol-anon, Balistoy told The Bohol Tribune.
She explained that the opening ceremonies of the hybrid trade show will be streamed live on Facebook at 3 pm on July 26, 2021.
She added that there will be bloggers who will be handling the program showcasing the products featured in the exhibit on live streaming shows that will be shown on the DTI Bohol’s Facebook page.
A limited number of on-site patrons can directly purchase products at the exhibit area, Balistoy said.
Furthermore, Balistoy added that there will be live selling activities featuring the exhibit’s participating merchants and the online selling activity will be featured on DTI Bohol’s Facebook page, too.
The live selling will be ably backed up by the back end chat support personnel of the DTI who are tasked to take the orders of customers online, Balistoy explained.
Meanwhile, Balistoy said products made by students from trash, under the Trash Solutions program, will also be featured in the said hybrid exhibit.
The prototype products made by students from trash will be entered in a competition with the winning entries earning the possibility of being developed further to become commercially-viable products, Balistoy added.
About 50% of the product entries in the Trash Solution competition should come from waste or discarded plastic, Balistoy revealed.