THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is stepping up its efforts on scaling up micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in the country, including Negros Occidental, through the agency’s “Kapatid Mentor Me” program.
Trade and Industry Assistant Secretary for Regional Operations Group Blesila Lantayona on Thursday, June 29, said there is a pressing need to scale up local enterprises to make them confident and competitive in facing the challenges of the Association of Southeast Nations (Asean) economic integration.
Lantayona said the DTI has partnered with the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship for the conceptualization of the “Mentor Me” program, which is one of the three components of its Project Kapatid along with adopt-an-SSF (shared service facilities) and inclusive business.
“The Mentor Me mainly aims to help micro and small entrepreneurs scale up their businesses through weekly coaching and mentoring by successful business owners and practitioners on different functional areas of entrepreneurship,” Lantayona added.
In Negros Occidental, an initial batch of 50 mentees will go through 10-module mentoring sessions for 10 weeks to be conducted at the Negosyo Center in Bacolod City.
These mentees, mostly from food, wearables and homestyle sectors, were selected by the DTI-Negros Occidental based on various criteria and guidelines.
They are the 66th batch of mentees in the country, forming part of the 89 groups comprising a total of 1,780 entrepreneurs to be covered by the program this year.
During the launching ceremony yesterday, identified mentees as well as participating entrepreneurs already attended the class for the first two modules such as entrepreneurial mind-setting and values formation, and marketing.
The mentees should go through each module, learn and apply it to their businesses, Lantayona said, adding that mentoring is a special form of assistance to MSEs using “slowly but surely” approach.
After completing the modules, they will present a business plan to the panel composed of representatives from the banking, government, and private sector for improvement and possible financing.
Through the “Mentor Me” program, the DTI is also optimistic to significantly contribute to employment generation in the country.
DTI-Negros Island Region (NIR) Director Asteria Caberte, who was also present at the launching, said they target to make at least two enterprises in the region become export ready.
“By scaling up, we want them to be capable of exploring the international market also,” Caberte said.
Henry Tenedero, one of the Kapatid mentors, said they are committed to help change the mindset of the entrepreneurs, specifically changing the negative to positive.
Tenedero also expressed optimism that through the program, the 99.6 percent share of micro, small and medium enterprises in the country will be reduced by transforming micro and small to medium and even large-scale businesses.