Cordillera SMEs Just Got Access to a CAD$5 Million Canadian-Funded Export Programme. The Target Market Is Canada. The Focus Is Women-Led Businesses.

DTI-CAR Regional Director Atty. Raymond G. Panhon and ARD Atty. Samuel Gallardo met with the Catalyste+ project management team, including Vener Valerio, Marilou Q. Toledo, and Marcelina A. Alcantara, on April 16, 2026, to begin strategic planning for Cordillera's participation in Project ELEVaTE, the Economic Linkages for Enhanced Value, Trade, and Exports programme. The programme is funded by Global Affairs Canada at CAD 5 million, implemented by Catalyste+, and runs from 2025 to 2031, with a mandate to support 400 Philippine SMEs in entering international markets, with priority given to women-led businesses.

For a Cordillera SME that has never exported, this is not a workshop. It is a structured, fully funded pathway to the Canadian market, with trade missions, technical training, and compliance support included.

What Project ELEVaTE Actually Offers

ELEVaTE covers six distinct areas of export preparation for participating SMEs: digital innovation and technology adoption, logistics and supply chain management, agribusiness standards compliance, market entry strategy for the Canadian market, fully funded trade missions to Canada, and expert technical training delivered by Catalyste+ volunteer advisors.

The fully funded trade mission component is the most immediately significant for Cordillera SMEs. Most Northern Luzon enterprises that are export-capable in terms of product quality have never accessed an international trade event because the cost is prohibitive. ELEVaTE removes that barrier entirely. A woman-led food processing enterprise in Baguio City or a weaving cooperative in Kalinga with the right product and the willingness to prepare can access the Canadian market through this programme without carrying the travel and participation cost themselves.

Catalyste+, formerly known as CESO-SACO, has operated in the Philippines since 1968 and has a documented track record of supporting Philippine women entrepreneurs into export markets. One previous beneficiary in the Philippines grew her business to the point where 70% of manufactured products now export to markets across Asia, Europe, and North America, a result she directly attributes to Catalyste+ technical advisory support.

The Canada-Philippines Trade Context

ELEVaTE is not an isolated programme. It sits inside a significantly deepening bilateral economic relationship. In November 2025, Canada announced CAD 76.4 million, approximately PHP 3.2 billion, in total development assistance for the Philippines, spanning 12 programmes covering agriculture, food security, water, energy, and SME development. A Canada-Philippines Free Trade Agreement is expected to be finalized in 2026, which would reduce tariff barriers on Philippine goods entering the Canadian market and directly increase the value of export readiness investments being made now.

Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy, launched in 2022, identifies the Philippines as a priority market and partner, with agri-food processing, clean technology, and ICT among the sectors where Canadian firms are actively seeking supply chain partners. For Cordillera SMEs in highland agriculture, organic food processing, handcrafted goods, and specialty beverages, the timing is structurally favorable: Canada is looking for what the region produces.

Why Women-Led Businesses Are the Priority

ELEVaTE's explicit focus on women-led businesses is consistent with Catalyste+'s flagship Accelerating Women's Empowerment programme, which operates in 21 countries and specifically targets women entrepreneurs in agribusiness, tourism and hospitality, and agroforestry value chains. In Cordillera, women lead a significant proportion of the region's food processing, weaving, and agricultural enterprises, including many that have participated in DTI trade fairs and the KMME mentorship programme but have not yet crossed into export markets.

The programme's design addresses a specific structural barrier: women-led SMEs in the Philippines are often export-capable in product quality but lack the international network, compliance knowledge, and financial capacity to execute their first trade mission. ELEVaTE is designed to close all three gaps simultaneously.

What This Means for Northern Luzon

A CAD 5 million, six-year Canadian government-funded export programme with fully funded trade missions and technical training, focused specifically on SMEs in the Philippines and prioritizing women-led businesses, is one of the most significant market access opportunities to land in Cordillera in years. The April 16 strategic meeting between DTI-CAR and Catalyste+ is the beginning of the selection and onboarding process for Cordillera participants.

For women-led SMEs in Baguio City, Benguet, Kalinga, Apayao, Abra, Ifugao, and Mountain Province with export-ready or near-export-ready products in agribusiness, food processing, handicrafts, or specialty goods: this is the programme to pursue. The entry point is DTI-CAR's SME Development and Industry Development Divisions, which are directly coordinating Cordillera's participation in ELEVaTE. Contact DTI-CAR directly to register your interest before cohort selection begins.

Original Source:

This article is based on an official post by DTI Cordillera Administrative Region, published April 20, 2026, and from Global Affairs Canada and Catalyste+ public programme announcements. We are grateful for the original documentation that brought this story to light.

Market Context:

Global Affairs Canada funded Project ELEVaTE at CAD 5 million for 2025 to 2031, with Catalyste+ as the implementing partner, targeting 400 Philippine SMEs for international market entry with priority for women-led businesses. Canada announced CAD 76.4 million, approximately PHP 3.2 billion, in total Philippines development assistance in November 2025, with a Canada-Philippines Free Trade Agreement expected to be finalized in 2026. Catalyste+ has operated in the Philippines since 1968, delivering technical advisory services to women-led MSMEs in agribusiness, tourism, food processing, and handicrafts, with documented beneficiaries growing to export 70% of production to international markets. The Canadian government's Indo-Pacific Strategy identifies the Philippines as a priority partner in agri-food, clean technology, and ICT, creating demand-side pull in Canada for the specialty agricultural and handcrafted products that Cordillera SMEs are positioned to supply.