The principal author of the Go Negosyo Act recently visited the Negosyo Center in Cabanatuan City. Senator Bam Aquino, together with his staff, visited the center on April 6, 2017 to meet with DTI officials and members of the Micro Small and Medium Enterprise sector of Nueva Ecija. Senator Aquino also monitored the operations of the Negosyo Center.

During the dialogue, micro entrepreneurs in the province gave testimonies of their growth with the help of the Negosyo Center. Former Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) like Monina G. Sarmiento and Almira Beltran talked about how they have established their respective mushroom and bagmaking businesses with the assistance of the Nueva Ecija Negosyo Center personnel. They said that the Negosyo Center has provided them valuable assistance from business registration, trainings, trade fair participation and loan facilitation which has helped them develop their respective businesses as an alternative to overseas work. Sarmiento is the proprietor of Kabuteng Barrio while Almira owns Almira’s Beadworks. DTI Provincial Director Brigida T. Pili led the welcoming party for the Senator during his visit.

The senator also had a radio interview in local radio stations in Cabanatuan City, where he promoted the Negosyo Center as a venue for potential and existing MSMEs to go for business advice and consultancy, product development and market linkage. He also expressed his gratitude to DTI, which he has worked with for two years now, for performing well in its mandate to improve the MSME sector.