DTI-10 Director Ruel Paclipan shares insights during the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas on March 11, emphasizing the role of Negosyo Centers in providing essential services such as business consultancy, registration assistance, and financing options to help MSMEs succeed in the market. (Photo: DCC/PIA-10)
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA) — Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-10 Director Ruel Paclipan encouraged micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) seeking to expand or improve their businesses to visit Negosyo Centers for guidance and support.
During the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas on March 11, Paclipan highlighted that the Negosyo Center offers essential services designed to meet the needs of MSMEs.
Region 10 currently has 93 Negosyo Centers established under the Magna Carta for MSMEs. These centers provide a variety of services to help MSMEs compete and thrive in the market.
The services include assistance with business registration for new entrepreneurs, as well as consultancy for MSMEs on compliance, documentary and licensing requirements, management, and marketing.
Paclipan said DTI deployed trained business counselors to the Negosyo Centers to offer consulting services. Some local government units also assign their personnel, who are trained by DTI.
“Mag-hire pud ta og consultants, kay usa sa mga learnings nato from the past is that mas maayo gyud nga ang mentors sa mga negosyante kato pud mga negosyante nga nakatilaw unsay failure, or nakatilaw both sa failure ug success,” he added.
(We will hire consultants because one of the lessons we learned from the past is that mentors should be entrepreneurs who have experienced failure, or experienced both failure and success.)
Paclipan further said Negosyo Centers assist entrepreneurs explore financing options. “Kung muingon sila [entrepreneurs] nga kulang sila sa capital, ang mga business counselor sa Negosyo Center magprovide ug information unsay options. Pwede ba kaha moadto sa atong Small Business Corporation? Kay ang Small Business Corporation (SBCorp) mao ang financing arm sa DTI,” he explained.
(If entrepreneurs say they lack capital, the business counselors at the Negosyo Center will provide information on available options. For example, they can be referred to as the Small Business Corporation (SBCorp), which is the financing arm of DTI.)
According to him, SBCorp can provide loans directly to MSMEs or offer loan financing to stable cooperative financial institutions, which in turn will extend the loan to small businesses.
Negosyo Centers also link businesses with technology providers to enhance operations and efficiency. Paclipan said these centers also assist with marketing by helping entrepreneurs find new markets, participate in trade promotion activities, and connect with potential buyers through market matching. (APB/PIA-10)
