DTI: Business registrations soar over 100K

MANILA, Philippines — Businesses registered with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for the year have so far reached over 100,000.

Speaking at the Amazon Southeast Asia Online Seller Summit yesterday, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said total business registrations for this year have already hit more than 108,000.

In terms of online business name registrations, the number has reached 1,539 as of January, he said.

Last year, a total of 916,163 businesses registered with the DTI, up from 637,567 in 2019.

Online businesses registered with the DTI, meanwhile, reached more than 86,000 in December from just 1,700 in the January to March 15 period last year.

While the number of businesses registered with the agency shows how entrepreneurs are adjusting to the new normal due to the coronavirus pandemic, Lopez said there is still a need for these enterprises to differentiate themselves to compete in the global market.

To help businesses, he said the DTI has been providing assistance through different micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) development programs.

As part of the support provided to MSMEs, he said the DTI is working with online retailer Amazon to help these enterprises expand their market.

“Last year, we had many new Philippine sellers on Amazon, and our friends in Amazon have been working with us to get in touch with more local businesses,” he said.

The DTI has also partnered with Union Bank of the Philippines to digitize sari-sari stores or the small general merchandise stores in local neighborhoods.

The DTI is helping MSMEs go online through the Virtual National Trade Fair, as well as other e-commerce platforms.

“This will mainstream the products of MSMEs, while establishing their online presence and helping them generate sales despite the lockdown restrictions,” he said.