Cebu business name registrations up 14%
The Department of Trade and Industry registered the most number of business names in Cebu last year, as business activity continued to expand in the province.
Zaide Bation, business regulation head at DTI-Cebu, said the agency registered a total of 17,751 sole enterprises — both new and renewal — in Cebu last year, the highest in 16 years.
That is up by 14 percent from 15,588 registered in 2016.
Bation said most of those registered last year were food businesses, followed by general merchandise and transportation.
The sole enterprises registered in 2017 were expected to generate a total of 25,914 jobs.
They also generated an accumulated capitalization of P2.833 billion.
Bation said business name registration has grown an average 12 percent for the last 16 years.
She said the growing number of DTI-registered businesses reflects the buoyant economic activity in Cebu.
Also contributing to the growth are the negosyo centers present in various cities and municipalities in Cebu.
The growth in business name registration also mirrors Cebu’s vibrant economy which attracts more businesses to start.
A business name lasts for five years and has to be renewed if the enterprise is to be continued.
DTI said the goal is to eventually have a negosyo center in every city and municipality in Cebu by this year.
The negosyo center can register business names, offer advisory to aspiring entrepreneurs, and help existing enterprises link their products to potential markets, among others.
The presence of the negosyo center can potentially increase the number of registered businesses in a town where it is present.
Republic Act 10644 or the Go Negosyo Act mandates the creation of negosyo centers across the country to help grow the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector which accounts for around 99 percent of registered businesses in the Philippines.
The law says that negosyo centers must facilitate ease of doing business in the country and access to services for MSMEs.
Aside from accounting for most registered businesses, MSMEs also make up for most jobs created in the country.