Success Stories

A model of an LGU’s development plan in Iloilo.

Iloilo City, 27 July 2015—Doing business in the Province of Iloilo will soon be very easy as the provincial government opens its Negosyo Center, an office tasked just to cater to local entrepreneurs and businesses.

To be launched on Wednesday, 29 July 2015, at the Provincial Capitol, the Negosyo Center will promote ease of doing business, provide access to services, and serve local medium, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which are the backbone of the Philippine economy as they account for more than 96% of the total enterprises and the largest job generator in the country.

Among the functions of the Negosyo Center are business registration assistance and business advisory services. This means more services for the MSMEs that empower them to grow viable and sustainable enterprises, improve and upgrade their products, link them to new markets, and provide business recovery assistance during calamities or disasters.

The Iloilo Negosyo Center is a partnership initiative of the Iloilo Provincial Government, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Government of Canada through the Local Governance Support Program for Local Economic Development (LGSP-LED).

Gov. Arthur D. Defensor Sr. will lead the ceremonial memorandum of agreement and commitment signing during a program at the Casa Real (Old Provincial Capitol) with its partners, including an Embassy of Canada representative.

“We are thankful to the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of Interior and Local Government and the Canadian Government for this project. Now, we will be able to provide more services to our entrepreneurs in the Province, help them make their enterprises sustainable and decrease their dependence on government for social services because they have better sources of income,” says Defensor.

The prospective private sector partners for this project includes the Iloilo Business Club, Iloilo Economic Development Foundation, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Iloilo, Taytay sa Kauswagan, and the Iloilo Federation for Information Technology.

The Negosyo Center will be initially housed at the 3rd floor of the Iloilo Provincial Capitol and will be managed by the Local Economic Development and Investment Promotion Unit. It is open to all MSMEs in the Province of Iloilo.

It is seen that the operationalization of this Negosyo Center will encourage entrepreneurship, economic empowerment, promote inclusive growth, and reduce poverty in the Province.

Throughout LGSP-LED’s work with Iloilo since 2012, the Province have made great strides and notable achievements out of its efforts to be more business-friendly and competitive. Through the growth-enabling policies and programs it has implemented, the Metro Iloilo-Guimaras has recorded over PHP 4 billion new investments related to tourism in 2013. Tourist arrivals have also been steadily increasing for Metro Iloilo-Guimaras with an average rate of increase of almost 24% per year. And, between only 2011 and 2013, over 700 new direct jobs have been created in tourism for Ilonggos.

Iloilo continues its innovative tourism development work with LGSP-LED to attract more investments and create local jobs, this time, in Northern Iloilo until 2016.

For more information contact:

Provincial Information and Community Affairs Office
Office of the Governor
Iloilo Provincial Government
T: (033)-337-1739