Last week the senate passed a bill to assist Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) growth and therefore help to decrease unemployment all over the Archipelago.

With this new bill, we are supposed to see the emergence of what is going to be called ‘’Negosyo Centers” in cities and municipalities, which will help new entrepreneurs to start their business and provide them access to financial support.

On the paper, this seems like a great idea and more businesses will subsequently create employment. Considering that the Philippines has the largest unemployment rate of the region, this can be a great push to create jobs and new companies.  I remain skeptical regarding the way all this is going to be managed, but at least there is an explicit effort from the government to support MSMEs and job creation.

The key point for the success of this bill is the evaluation of which businesses and people will have access to these tax incentives. SME’s in the Philippines employ almost 3/4 of the labor force, a number that helps us to understand the impact that a program as this can have in the growth of this economy.

Anyway, the fact that the government is trying to give a hand to creative and ambitious minds is already a win. Let’s hope that all this is going to be handled properly and that more companies and job will be creates in the Philippines.

For a deeper understanding of the Philippines and its economy, do not hesitate to contact our team.