(Eagle News)–The number of online business registrants rose to 75,000 as of Sept. 2, the Department of Trade and Industry said.
According to DTI, the 75,876 who registered were a huge increase from the 1,753 reported from January to March 15, before the community quarantines imposed in the country.
According to Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, business name applications reached 9,692 in May, and further increased in June when over 33,000 business names were registered.
“The silver lining in COVID-19 is the accelerated adoption of e-commerce,” he said.
He said the DTI was also “increasing our efforts to promote e-commerce by building trust between consumers and merchants, and focusing on the digitalization of our micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).”
“I think the end to end registration system is the reason for the increase. With the online business name registration system (BNRS), I believe that our entrepreneurs find it easier to comply as they can finish the entire registration process within eight minutes,” he said, noting that the platform was “readily available to the public in the comfort of their own homes.”
“We are pleased to know that our citizens are starting their businesses right by registering their business with appropriate government agencies, such as the DTI,” Lopez added.