DAVAO Region’s pioneering batch of the Mentor Micro-Enterprises (Mentor ME) program of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in partnership with Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc. – Go Negosyo, completed Monday, December 5, the 11 modules within an 11-week mentoring sessions.
DTI Davao regional director Maria Belenda Ambi, in a phone interview with SunStar Davao Tuesday, December 6, lauded the performance of the 20 micro entrepreneur graduates saying they are now developed as more competitive entrepreneurs.
“The launch of the program (Mentor Me) wherein Davao City was identified as one of the pilot areas was very successful as we were able to produce 20 graduates,” she said.
The Mentor ME program, which was launched last October 7 in the city, is one of the three components of the agency’s umbrella program -- “Kapatid Angat Lahat” Other components include: Adopt a Shared Service Facilities (SSF) and Inclusive Business (IB).
Other pilot areas/cities of the program are Baguio, Iloilo, Cebu, Tacloban, Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro, and General Santos.
Rachel Remitio, Chief Trade and Industry Development Specialist of DTI -Davao, earlier said that “Mentor ME” is a one-on-one weekly mentoring sessions by business owners and practitioners to micro entrepreneurs on different functional areas of entrepreneurship. Businesses with capitalization at P3 million and below belong to this segment.
“This will be initially implemented in the pilot areas but by next year (2017) we target to roll it nationwide in all the areas where Negosyo Centers are established,” Remitio said.
Kessia Carol Daya Tar, one of the owners of Kapeng Nitibo, a local coffee brand of the indigenous people of Davao, in a separate interview, said through the 11 comprehensive business enhancement sessions of the program, participants were able to upgrade themselves and their businesses.
“Now that we completed the 11 sessions, we can really say, that we have learned a lot from business planning, marketing to business relations, among others. All things we learned from our competent mentors can really be applied in upgrading and sustaining our business,” Tar said.
Modules of the program focused on setting the entrepreneurship mindset, marketing and market trends, operations management, human resource management, supply and value chain, and financial management, among others.
Ambi said that the program’s success was also contributed by the region’s local expert business partners from the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and industry, Inc. and from other business groups here.
The regional director added that some of the remarkable gains of the graduates are its creation of re-entry plan or feasibility study for their businesses and establishment of business networks.
“All the graduates owned a certificate of completion. Maybe after six months or a year, we will monitor our graduates to measure if the program really improved their businesses,” Ambi said, adding that the “Mentor Me” will now be part of the agency’s regular programs.
She said that for the continuous implementation of the program, the agency will come up with an updated plan during its yearend meeting this month.