NEGOSYO CENTER. Department of Trade and Industry Ilocos Region Director Grace Baluyan and Bani Mayor Gwen Yamamoto (5th and 6th from left) lead the opening of the Negosyo Center in Bani, Pangasinan on Tuesday (Dec. 28, 2021). The center is the fifth to open in the province this year. (Photo courtesy of DTI Region 1) BANI, Pangasinan - The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Tuesday opened a Negosyo (Business) Center here to provide accessible services to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). It is the fifth Negosyo Center that opened in the province, which already has 25 branches, and the 80th in the Ilocos Region. In a phone interview, DTI Pangasinan provincial director Natalia Dalaten said the MSMEs and other stakeholders may avail of services such as business name registration or renewal, business counseling, information and advocacy, and product development. "If they need advice regarding their businesses or those who want to start a business from the town, they need not go to the provincial office and instead go to the Negosyo Center managers," she said. MSME organizations may also inquire about available DTI programs and projects such as the Shared Service Facility and financing offers. The establishment of Negosyo Centers is stipulated in the Go Negosyo Act that aims to bring the various business services of DTI closer to MSMEs, especially in the countryside. Amid the pandemic, the DTI catered to over 12,000 MSMEs in the province with interventions such as livelihood seeding programs, Negosyo Serbisyo sa Barangay that provided livelihood starter, and trainings and seminars. Meanwhile, the DTI and a mall in Urdaneta City are operating a Christmas Market from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. until Jan. 15, 2022 to allow MSMEs to sell their wares. "It did not only give us an avenue to sell our products but also to provide employment to our staff who also have families relying on them," said Roan Urbano of native delicacy store Papay Serio, one of the MSMEs in the bazaar. SM public relations manager KJ Santiago said they work with the government, and the private sector to provide an environment for MSMEs to quickly recover from the pandemic. (PNA) }