A TOTAL of 94 Negosyo Centers were established by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in the different local government units in Central Luzon since 2015.
Of the total 130 cities and municipalities in the region, 72 percent already have Negosyo Centers to serve potential and existing micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to develop their businesses, said DTI- Regional Director Judith Angeles.
In 2018 alone, the seven DTI provincial offices have put up 30 new Negosyo Centers in the region, wherein eight of them are in Nueva Ecija, seven in Zambales, five in Tarlac, four in Pampanga, three in Bulacan, while two new Negosyo Centers were established in Bataan, and one in Aurora, Angeles said.
Angeles also recalled that aside from the 30 new centers, the DTI has established 11 centers in 2015 when the Go Negosyo Act was passed, 18 in 2016, and 35 in 2017 for a total of 94 centers in the whole of Central Luzon.
“The Negosyo Centers were established with the support of the local government units and different stakeholders who are members of the MSME Development Council in an aim to achieve our common goal of uplifting the businesses of starting entrepreneurs,” she explained.
In total, Nueva Ecija province has established the most number of Negosyo Centers with 20, followed by Pampanga and Tarlac with 15 centers each. Zambales and Bulacan have 14 Negosyo Centers each while Bataan and Aurora have a total of nine and seven Negosyo Centers in each province.
The establishment of Negosyo Centers is pursuant to Republic Act No. 10644, or the Go Negosyo Act authored by Senator Bam Aquino.
It aims to strengthen inclusive growth in the countryside by enhancing the MSME Development Council and by establishing a Negosyo Center in each local government unit to provide business advisory, business development, business information services and capacity building programs more accessible to potential and existing MSMEs.