An additional eight Negosyo Centers are set to open in the Cordillera this year to help more business owners and would-be entrepreneurs.

The new centers will bring the total number to 70 across the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).

The eight new Negosyo hubs will be set up in the municipalities of Luba and Pilar in the province of Abra; Pasil and Tanudan in Kalinga; Calanasan and Kabugao in Apayao; Hungduan in Ifugao; and Sadanga in Mountain Province.

Lawyer Raymond Panhon, regional director of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), said during the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas held in a hotel here that “These centers are made possible with the help of the local government units that also appoint or designate coordinators in their areas to operate the centers and ensure that the office’s mandate is performed.”

He said that in 2024, at least 21,956 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and 374 barangay micro business enterprises (BMBE) were served by the 62 centers spread out in the six provinces and two cities of the region.

There were also 235 training sessions conducted for the entrepreneurs.

Panhon said: “The Negosyo Center program is responsible for promoting ease of doing business and facilitating access to services for MSMEs established by the Go Negosyo Act.”

Negosyo Centers’ services include support for the MSMEs including business registration assistance, advisory services, information and advocacy, and business counseling for would-be entrepreneurs.

In 2024, at least PHP162 million in sales of MSME products was logged in the Cordillera, which has also generated direct and subsidiary employment to the residents of the region.

The DTI helps the MSMEs through programs such as “Kapatid Mentor Me”, the Young Entrepreneur Program (YEP) and the “Be your own boss”.

Meanwhile, lawyer Samuel Gallardo, DTI assistant regional director, said in the same event that the agency “aims to improve the performance of the region in exports by improving the products and operation of businesses aside from marketing and promotion”.

“One of our ways forward is to elevate the status of the MSMEs by continuing to help improve the products, capacitate the stakeholders and make them adapt to the growing trend of online trading and business operations, aside from helping them access financial institutions for capital, additional capital or for improvement of the operation and the product quality,” he said. (PNA)