MICRO, small and medium enterprises in the town of Compostela, Cebu now have easy access to a range of services designed to help their businesses grow, with the opening of the town’s Negosyo Center.
Launched on Aug. 30, 2024, the Negosyo Center is located inside Compostela’s Municipal Hall. This is the 36th Negosyo Center in Cebu Province.
According to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-Cebu Provincial Office two more Negosyo Centers are targeted to open this year--one in Carmen, Cebu to be situated inside the town’s Municipal Hall and one in Cebu City with no specific location yet.
Established under the Go Negosyo Act, the Negosyo Centers provide a wide array of services tailored to support MSMEs, including business registration assistance, business advisory services, business information and advocacy, MSME development seminars, access to market initiatives, financing facilitation and other programs that enhance the competitiveness and empower the sector.
Compostela Mayor Felijur Quiño expressed his appreciation to the DTI for its continued efforts to strengthen
local entrepreneurship.
He said that the Negosyo Center in Compostela is a pivotal step in his administration’s commitment to streamlining business processes and nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit within the community.
DTI-Cebu Provincial Director Rose Mae Quiñanola emphasized the importance of the Negosyo Center in uplifting local MSMEs, which constitute 99.6 percent of businesses nationwide.
She assured the local government unit of Compostela of DTI’s unwavering support in initiatives aimed at improving the town’s ease of doing business.
Compostela hosts over 1,200 registered establishments and key investors, including the industrial factories of Norkis Trading Co. Inc. (Yamaha plant), Virginia Food Inc., Steel Asia’s Compostela Works, ready-mix concrete supplier Suprea Philippines Development Corp. and home furnishings and garden accessories exporter Natures Legacy Eximport Inc.
According to the Philippine Development Report 2023, a total of 1,378
Negosyo Centers were established, covering 1,311 local government units (LGUs) in 2023. This is equivalent to 80.23 percent of 1,634 total LGUs nationwide. These centers assisted 500,508 MSMEs and 904,033 clients.
Moreover, the government added it will strive to establish Negosyo Centers in the
323 municipalities that have no Negosyo Centers yet starting this year.
The report said the Negosyo Centers will continue to improve the technical and customer service skills of its business counselors through the conduct of a Small Business Counsellor Course. It will also enhance its entrepreneurial training/seminars/ workshops for MSMEs by collaborating with public and private partners. (KOC)