According to Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), over 430,000 businesses had been registered with the reached in the first quarter.
On his latest speaking engagement in DTI Region 1 Youth Entrepreneurship Program (YEP), Secretary Ramon Lopez said that business name registrations from January to March had reached 432,962 since many Filipinos had turned to entrepreneurship to tide over the pandemic. He also mentioned that e-commerce adoption is also growing in the country since the number of registered online businesses now is reaching more than 9,000.
Last year, a total of 916,163 businesses were registered with the DTI. This number is higher compared to the 637,580 in 2019.Online businesses climbed to more than 86,000 in December, compared to the small number of 6,000 from 2018 to 2019.
Lopez reiterated that the DTI is helping micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) address the problems posed by the pandemic through programs that provides access to microfinance, as well as to transitioning to digital. This is with an intention to take advantage of opportunities in the e-commerce market.
For the young people in particular, he explained that the DTI has committed to help them take up entrepreneurship under Republic Act 10679 or the Youth Entrepreneurship Act. “That’s why we created YEP, a focused program to support young Filipinos in becoming entrepreneurs,” he said proudly.
Apart from the YEP, he said the DTI has other initiatives to help young businessmen become successful and smarter entrepreneurs by putting up its 64 Negosyo Centers, which serve MSMEs in the region. This year the Negosyo Centers have already assisted around 12,057 clients, which 1,352 of them are youth MSMEs.
“We aim to establish 15 more Negosyo Centers for 2021,” he added.
Aside from YEP, the DTI’s regional office also has programs like the “Kapatid Mentor ME” which involves mentorship and guidance on different aspects of business operations. The agency is also instigating the shared service facilities program which can improve the competitiveness of MSMEs. This is done by providing machinery, equipment, tools, skills, and knowledge that they can use under a shared system.
“As young entrepreneurs, we encourage you to use technology to think and come up with new and relevant business models to address the needs of our people. Use technology, use your creativity, the way you know it, apply it to entrepreneurship, and you can build back a better world,” Lopez said, addressing the young businessmen.
He also highlighted that innovation is critical to any entrepreneurial undertaking, so with that, the DTI is also promoting innovation through different initiatives including the Industry 4.0 Roadmap to help industries step up and take the challenges that comes with the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“Additionally, we are launching the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Roadmap this May to guide the adoption and utilization of AI technologies in agribusiness, manufacturing, and services industries,” he added. Lopez mentioned that the AI roadmap seeks to introduce the country as an AI powerhouse.
Photo Source: https://www.ptvnews.ph/
http://rondabalita.news/
https://cnnphilippines.com/
https://isensey.com/
