CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY -- Despite the threat of Covid-19, registration for new businesses in Northern Mindanao was still high in 2021, an official of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Region 10 said on Thursday, July 14.

DTI-10 Information Officer Julie Nieva said in a media forum that the office has tallied 24,239 new business registrations last year, only 637 lower compared to the 24,876 business registrations in 2020, both new registration and renewal.

Due to the restrictions brought by the pandemic, Nieva said many micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have opened their businesses with the help of social media and other online services which has been effective because of less physical interaction.

“Even with the restrictions, we still have received many business name registrations because many of our businesspeople found an opportunity where they sell their products and services online,” Nieva said in vernacular.

She said businesses in the food sector are on top in the region, which includes allied businesses such as delivery and online businesses.

The DTI-10 assured the conduct of orientation and continuously provided seminars and training to the MSMEs to help them market and grow their businesses, most importantly with the presence of digitalization.

“We have training on how to navigate with their business, especially with digitalization as we still give importance and highlight e-Commerce,” Nieva said.

“We are not limited in providing training to the businesspeople but we should also give them an opportunity on how to reach out to a global market,” she added.

Aside from newly-registered businesses from the last two years, there were also 2,183 business establishments that had declared temporarily closed and 155 business establishments had declared permanently closed as of February 8 this year. This is based on the data from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Region 10.

To help the affected MSMEs in the region, Nieva said they provided livelihood starter kits to restart their businesses and the Bayanihan Cares, through SB (Small Business) Corporation which provides financial assistance and financial loans.

As of this year, the DTI-10 has so far already tallied 21,188 new business registrations and this could surpass the figures from the last two years as this only covers the first half of 2022.

Nieva underscored the importance of DTI registrations for the benefit of the business to receive financial assistance, if needed, and for the consumers’ protection.

“It is also a way for the consumers to protect themselves, especially to the online businesses. It is hard to track. If we send a complaint to the DTI that we got scammed but it is hard to trace if these online services don’t have registrations,” she explained.