SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique – The Department of Trade and Industry has opened a Negosyo Center in the island barangay of Semirara in Caluya to bring business services closer to micro, small and medium enterprises.
DTI Antique provincial director Mary Jade Gonzales said the center, which opened on Sept. 2, offers assistance on business registration, training, financing, market linkages and other enterprise-related services.
She said Semirara is the first barangay in Antique to have its own Negosyo Center with an assigned business counselor.
The center was established at the request of Barangay Captain Catherine Lim, who provided office space for the facility.
Semirara has around 1,000 registered businesses, and the center is also expected to serve residents of other island barangays in Caluya.
Gonzales said the opening builds on DTI’s earlier completion of Negosyo Centers in all 18 municipalities of Antique.
Meanwhile, graduates of DTI’s Kapatid Mentor Me program in the province have formed the Kami Antique Credit Cooperative to provide financing support to fellow entrepreneurs.
The cooperative, which opened its office in San Jose de Buenavista on Friday, has 75 KMME graduates as members and plans to offer loans for business capital.
Gonzales said the initiative could help MSMEs expand operations, generate jobs and improve local incomes.