AFTER Bohol and Siquijor, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) 7 will now roll out the “Negosyo Serbisyo sa Barangay (NSB)” in the province of Cebu.
The agency will launch the project in Moalboal, Cebu on Friday, Aug. 2, 2019.
DTI 7 Director Asteria Caberte said this is the first time the agency is going to the barangay level to boost developments in the countryside, especially in the fourth and fifth class municipalities.
“These units are small DTIs in the countryside where they do counseling and intensive assistance for our micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs),” she said.
Caberte said they are targeting to cover 250 barangays in the region for 2019 and 1,250 barangays by 2022.
“What we do is we go to all barangays, gather people with the help of the Barangay Development Councils and identify at the barangay level if there are MSMEs we can help,” she said.
She said there are still MSMEs in far-flung barangays that are not aware that there is an agency for them.
Caberte said they will initially identify five MSMEs per barangay to be assisted by the region.
As of July 19, the DTI’s NSB has already covered 39 barangays in Bohol and 98 in Siquijor.
Caberte identified Bohol as the pilot area in the region after several developments in the province.
With this, the program aims to bring the government services closer to small businesses and boost assistance through the establishment of barangay help desks for MSMEs.
NSB services include an information campaign on the Negosyo Center, financial literacy, business name registration services and streamlining of business regulatory requirements, consumer education and protection, shared service facility, trade fairs and Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso, among others.
It will also offer entrepreneurship seminars, bookkeeping / accounting for non-accountants, product development and related skills training through the Negosyo Centers established in the provinces. (JOB)