Business
Around 30,000 new
businesses registered
from Jan to May
2019 Total registered
businesses now 1.42
million
T
Credit: www.dti.gov.ph
From L to R: DTI Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya, DTI Secretary and MSMED Council
Chair Ramon Lopez, Presidential Adviser on Entrepreneurship and MSMED Council
Vice Chairman Jose Ma. Concepcion III, and Go Negosyo Adviser on MSME Development
Merly Cruz at the 11th MSMED Council meeting on 14 May 2019
he MSME Development (MSMED) Council
reported that registered businesses in the
Philippines climbed to 1.42 million in May 2019
from 1.39 million in December 2018. This is
around 30,000 new businesses in five months.
Trade Secretary and MSMED Council Chair
Ramon Lopez said this indicates that it’s a good
time to do business in the Philippines, given that
the country is the 2nd fastest growing economy
in the ASEAN region.
During the 11th MSME Development Council meeting on 14
May 2019, Sec. Lopez said that programs for micro, small, and
medium enterprises (MSMEs) should be felt at the barangay-
level. The MSMED Council, composed of public and private sector
representatives, is the group tasked to advance the interests of
Filipino MSMEs.
“Part of fulfilling President Rodrigo Duterte’s promise of Tapang at
Malasakit is providing job and business options to help Filipinos live
more comfortable lives. So even if the DTI’s budget is only up to the
provincial-level, we will find ways for our programs to reach MSMEs
Credit: www.dti.gov.ph
58
at the grassroots,” said Sec. Lopez.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) further committed
to inform the public on the benefits of the Barangay Micro Business
Enterprise (BMBE) law. Sec. Lopez clarified that entrepreneurs can
still register as single proprietors in DTI, even after the Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) allowed the registration of one-
person corporations. This is due to the much simpler registration
requirements in DTI.
The MSMED Council is also looking into synchronizing statistics
produced by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and the
National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) on MSMEs. It
also wants to count the MSMEs in the informal sector, or those who
have yet to get business permits. These statistics, according to the
Council, will help DTI, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), and other
finance institutions grasp where microfinancing is needed.
Upcoming events for MSMEs include the MSME Summit in July
and the three-leg Youth Entrepreneurship Program Roadshow in
Visayas by June, Cebu by July, and Luzon by November.
Also present during the MSMED Council meeting were
Presidential Adviser on Entrepreneurship and MSMED Council Vice
Chairman Jose Ma. Concepcion III, DTI Undersecretary Zenaida
Maglaya, Assistant Secretaries Jean Pacheco and Blesila Lantayona,
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Director Pia Roman-Tayag, Small
Business Corporation OIC-EVP Melvin Abando, Credit Information
Corporation (CIC) President Jaime Garchitorena and private
sector representatives Jim Ayala (MSME Sector), Jeannie Javelosa
(Women), Archie Florendo (Youth), and representatives from the
labor, banking, and microfinance sectors.
www.dti.gov.ph