DAVAO CITY – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Joey Concepcion’s “Go Negosyo” are encouraging Filipinos to become entrepreneurs to stamp out poverty.

In a recent Negosyo Seminar (Negosem) for the One-Town, One-Product (OTOP) program and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) here, DTI Undersecretary Merly Cruz said setting up a business is the best way to make money.

“Entrepreneurship is the key to graduate from poverty, as what Joey Concepcion keeps on saying. I just hope that everyone will really be encouraged to make their business successful,” Cruz told participants during a recent seminar at the Bank Sentral ng Pilipinas in this city.

The Go Negosyo team has chosen this city as a pilot area for the NegoSem as the region has manifested a huge potential in shaping individuals to become budding entrepreneurs.

In the Philippines, only 0.4 percent of 90,000 registered entrepreneurs are large scale, 8.6 percent are small and medium, while the rest of are micro entrepreneurs, statistics of the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship (PCE) disclosed.

“The 99.6 percent MSMEs contribute 70 percent of employment but only 22 percent of gross value added.
Therefore, we have to do more in this area,” PCE executive director Ramon Lopez said while recommending a national effort to mold smart, creative and innovative “entrepinoys.”