Central Visayas tops online business name registrations
AMID economic uncertainties, the entrepreneurial spirit of Cebuanos has remained strong as shown in the number of business name registrations (BNR), both new and renewal, with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
Cebu ranked third among the 82 provinces in the Philippines in BNR in 2022. And in a nod to its digital savvy, it also had the highest percentage of BN registrations online compared to total number of BN registrations among the provinces.
This helped Central Visayas to log the highest percentage of BNR online compared to total number of BN registrations among the 17 regions nationwide, the DTI said.
DTI 7 recorded 58,914 online BNR in 2022, out of the 70,938 BNR recorded in the region, which means 83 percent of those who registered their business names last year did so online.
These figures cover both new applications and renewal regardless of business type under sole proprietorship. Most of these businesses are engaged in retail activities both in food and non-food.
Central Visayas groups the provinces of Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental and Siquijor.
A business name refers to any name, other than your true name, that you use in connection with your business. The BN registration is valid for five years from the date of registration.
Done in minutes
DTI 7 Director Ma. Elena Arbon said this achievement means that more and more businesses in Cebu and in the region are taking advantage of the digital processes adopted by the government in a bid to attract more Filipinos to get into business.
“This is ease of doing business. In five to seven minutes, you are done,” she said on Wednesday, July 26, 2023.
For having the highest percentage of BN registrations online to total number of BN registrations among the regions, the DTI 7 received the Business Name Registration Regional Excellence Award for Online BNR.
Its provincial office, DTI Cebu, on the other hand, received the BNR Excellence Award Sub-Regional for Online BNR for having the highest percentage of BN registrations online to total number of BN registrations among the provinces.
Ninety-two percent of the 50,489 BN registrations in Cebu in 2022 were done online.
The provincial office also received the BNR Excellence Award Sub-Regional for Most Number of BN Registrations (third place) for recording 50,489 BN registrations in 2022, equivalent to 5.39 percent of the total BNs registered nationwide.
The DTI Business Name Registration Awards and Recognition was held at the Rizal Park Hotel in Metro Manila last Tuesday.
Early advocate
Arbon said DTI 7 fully adopted the online BN system early on and instituted programs to advocate and promote early adoption by the public since May 2019.
“We are being recognized for this laudable DTI program that promotes ease of doing business and proves that the government can indeed conduct business in digital mode,” said Arbon.
The DTI BNRS Next Gen was launched to the public on May 20, 2019. This platform enables end-to-end registration of BN, wherein the public can apply for new registration, renewal and request certification in the comfort of their homes.
Total business name registrations in 2022 stood at 932,097, surpassing the previous record of 916,164 in 2020.
Of the total, 827,491 were new BNs registered, accounting for 88.8 percent of overall registrations. The remaining 104,606 were renewal of BN registrations.
“The rising number of sole proprietors registering their business names is indeed a positive sign that the Filipino entrepreneurial spirit is alive and recovering from the pandemic,” said DTI Secretary Fred Pascual in a statement.