DTI pushes more support for MSMEs

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is pushing for more support to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to promote the continued growth of the sector.

During a recent meeting of the MSME Development (MSMED) Council, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said there is need to continue supporting the sector as programs being implemented have resulted in the significant growth in the number of enterprises.

Department of Interior and Local Government director Annaliza Bonagua said there were 1.39 million business establishments registered in local government units as of November.

“These 1.39 million enterprises reflect a big jump from the more than 900,000 registered enterprises last year, as reported by the Philippine Statistics Authority. These are just the registered businesses, a majority of which are MSMEs. If we include those yet to be registered, the number may reach over six million,” Lopez said.

He said the MSMED Council is committed to serve all MSMEs, and encourage more Filipinos to start their own businesses.

As part of the support for existing and potential entrepreneurs, the DTI aims to put up a Negosyo Center per municipality.

Negosyo Centers are being established in line with Republic Act 10644 or the Go Negosyo Act signed into law in 2014, which aims to promote job generation and inclusive growth through the development of MSMEs.

Through the Negosyo Centers, MSMEs can avail of various services such as business registration assistance, business advisory services, micro financing and market leads.

As of Dec. 13, 1,021 Negosyo Centers have been set up.

For this year alone, Negosyo Centers have provided business assistance to 915,675 entrepreneurs and registered 34,775 businesses as Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBEs).

Under the BMBE law, MSMEs can avail of tax and minimum wage exemptions, financing priority, and technical support from government agencies.