BONTOC, Mountain Province – The Cordillera office of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI-CAR) disclosed there are more than 21,000 registered micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) spread out in the different parts of the region which help in sustaining the economic activities and sources of livelihood of the people in the rural communities.
DTI-CAR regional director Juliet Lucas stated that the number of registered MSMEs continues to increase as there is the ongoing registration of businesses in areas without internet signal for them to avail of the agency’s online registration and for DTI to establish a database of MSMEs operating in the region.
She claimed that the current number of registered MSMEs account for 99.7 percent of the businesses that are existing in the region while the remaining number of businesses are classified as large businesses.
Further, the DTI-CAR official added that in the national scene, 99.5 percent of the registered businesses in the country are MSMEs.
Lucas pointed out that the agency is registering businesses in various parts of the region to establish a database of the operating businesses, the number of employees, the capitalization of the said businesses, among others, to serve as a basis for policy makers and decision makers in the formulation of programs, projects and activities that will help in advancing the state of MSMEs in the region.
According to her, the agency is now focusing its sights on the registration of MSMEs that are situated in the remote villages that do not have the internet signal to achieve the overall purpose of registering all operating businesses in the region.
Lucas disclosed that one of the services being offered by the agency for online sellers is the provision of an electronic marketing platform for them to market their products to a wider spectrum of the community.
She admitted that during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic over the past 2 years, there was a significant number of MSMEs that ceased operations because of the heavy losses.
On the other hand, Lucas stipulated that there were also a good number of businesses that suddenly emerged and thrived during the pandemic which became these entrepreneurs’ sources of livelihood over the past 2 years.
Lucas cited the desire of the people to survive the pandemic as their motivation to establish their alternative sources of livelihood at the height of the health crisis.
She appealed to the proprietors of businesses operating in the different parts of the region to ensure they are already registered with the agency for them to avail of assistance that could be extended by concerned government agencies and for them to be included in the official registry of MSMEs that will serve as a basis in the crafting of programs which will benefit them.
