President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has named Go Negosyo Founder Jose Maria "Joey" Concepcion III a member of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development Council (MSMEDC) of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) revealed.

Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion and President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. (File photo/Go Negosyo)

Concepcion, whose appointment took effect on May 16, was among those the President recently appointed to different government posts.

Based on the PCO's Facebook post, Concepcion would be the member to represent Luzon at the MSMEDC, the agency responsible for the promotion, growth, and development of MSMEs in the Philippines.

This is not Concepcion's first stint under the Marcos administration. Concepcion was first tasked to lead the Jobs Committee of Marcos' Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC).

Following his victory in the 2022 polls, Marcos met with Concepcion to discuss issues affecting local MSMEs, specifically health, the economy, and the impact of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis on businesses.

In a speech in Malacañang in March, President Marcos lauded Concepcion for "the efforts you invest in our economy, particularly in the agricultural sector, [which] are truly instrumental in bringing progress across our lands."

"He (Concepcion) has been prominent recently in bringing together these partnerships, bringing together these synergies in our economy especially to help our MSMEs and, in the process, strengthening our middle class," Marcos said.

"It is only recently that we see him quite so prominent, but he has been doing this for most of his professional life. And I think he deserves a very robust round of applause for all the work that he has done," he added.

Before his new appointment, Concepcion was the presidential adviser for entrepreneurship to former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and again to former president Rodrigo Duterte.

Concepcion founded Go Negosyo, an advocacy that seeks to be "the institution that brings together all key stakeholders and enablers to generate competitive Filipino entrepreneurs and help MSMEs scale up."