DTI opens Negosyo Centers in Cebu’s ‘Yolanda corridor’

In this file photo taken on April 27, 2017, Nelia Navarro, regional head of the Department of Trade and Industry in Central Visayas, cuts the ribbon together with Ma. Elena Arbon, DTI-Cebu provincial director, during the formal opening of the DTI Negosyo Centers in Yolanda-affected areas.

THE Department of Trade and Industry is poised to “create new entrepreneurs” as it opens more Negosyo Centers (NCs) mostly in the northern part of Cebu before the end of 2017.

From October to November, DTI-Cebu launched one NC each in Moalboal, Medellin and Tabuelan, and targets to establish 10 more within the “Yolanda corridor,” named as such as these were the areas devastated by Super Typhoon Yolanda in November 2013, by December.

“With our presence in more towns in the province, we project an increase in the number of businesses registered in Cebu. The establishment of additional Negosyo Centers will also create new entrepreneurs,” Marivic Aguilar, chief trade and industry development specialist at DTI Cebu, told Cebu Daily News in an interview.

The additional 10 to be opened next month will be in Bantayan and Madridejos on Bantayan Island; Poro, Pilar, San Francisco and Tudela on Camotes Island; as well as Balamban, Borbon, Sogod, almost all of which have not yet fully recovered from the economic devastation wrought by Yolanda.

DTI has set aside a budget of P300,000 to P400,000 for each NC, with an additional counter part from the local government unit.

These will bring the number of NCs across Cebu province to 24 by the end of the year.

Before the start of 2017, the DTI already launched NCs in its office in downtown Cebu City, at the University of the Philippines Cebu, Lapu-Lapu City, Consolacion, Bogo City, San Remigio, Daanbantayan, Tuburan, Santa Fe, Carcar City and Dalaguete.

“When we launched in the three towns earlier, the government officials were really appreciative. They welcomed the idea of having a Negosyo Center in their locality, especially those that are really far away,” Aguilar said.

She pointed out that those who want to avail of DTI services such as business name registration, business counseling, and various entrepreneurial workshops would no longer have to travel to Cebu City.

It will usually take five to six hours to travel from Bantayan Island to Cebu City, via a ferry to mainland Cebu through Jagnaya Wharf and then by bus to the province’s capital.

With the additional NCs on the island, they will save on money, time and effort spent just to come to the metropolitan, Aguilar added.

She noted that establishing a presence in these areas will also make it easier to promote DTI programs to more people.

“Not only will they be able to register their businesses, but also enhance their capabilities through training programs, workshops and consultancy services,” said Aguilar.

The DTI is currently implementing in 11 NCs an offshoot of Kapatid Mentor Me (KMM) called Negosyo 101, an abridged version of the mentorship program aimed at micro, small, and medium entrepreneurs in the countryside.

KMM aims to help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) grow and sustain their businesses through 12 weeks of coaching and mentoring with business owners and practitioners of different functional areas of entrepreneurship.

But instead of using KMM’s 11 weekly modules, Aguilar said they have taken the core seven modules of the program and made it available for rural MSMEs.

The modules include entrepreneurial mind-setting, marketing, business model canvass, entrepreneurial finance, supply chain management, business laws, and networking with various government agencies. DTI, however, requires that participants for Negosyo 101 are existing entrepreneurs.

Around 25 to 35 MSMEs participate in every module for every town, she explained.

MSMEs are considered the backbone of the Philippine economy, comprising 99.6 percent of the total number of registered number of businesses and employing 70 percent of the work force in the country.

Aguilar said they target to have opened one NC in each city and municipality and Cebu by 2020.

Zaide Bation, chief of the consumer welfare and business regulation division at DTI-Cebu, said that the presence of NCs in various parts of the province has been instrumental in the increase of the number of registered businesses in the province in the past year.

Based on data from DTI-Cebu, business names registered in the province between January and September 2017 period grew 21.9 percent to 14,436 from 11,838 during the same period in 2016.

A Negosyo Center offers DTI services aimed at helping businesses such as business name registration, loan and investment assistance, and even training opportunities for MSMEs.

With the opening of NCs expected to go full swing, Bation said she sees the number of businesses in Cebu growing even further.

DTI already exceeded its 12,000 business name registration target for 2016 and have already exceeded their 14,000 goal for 2017.

Businesses are required to renew their registration with the DTI every five years.