THE Association of Negros Producers (ANP) lauded the mentoring initiative of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) at scaling up local enterprises to be more ready for Asean economic integration.
Christina Gaston, ANP president, said on Thursday, July 6, the program is a welcome development because it will complement the efforts of the local business support organization in its aim to help all enterprises in the province.
Gaston said that since mentoring is an across-the-board program, the DTI can cover those that cannot be reached by ANP.
“The beauty of mentoring is that we probably came from different industries but we have the same experiences to share,” Gaston said, adding that mentors can help Negrense producers, especially new startup enterprises, answer questions like where to find resources and where to go in times of problems.
On June 29, the DTI launched its "Kapatid Mentor Me" program in Negros Occidental. It initially covered 20 mentee-entrepreneurs from the province.
Agency officials said there is a pressing need to scale up local enterprises to make them more confident and competitive in facing the challenges of Asean economic integration.
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 business.
Gaston said many ANP members, including her, were tapped as mentors, something that the organization is proud of.
"With our experience through the years, we can contribute to the success of the program," Gaston said.
Gaston added that at the end of the day, they are looking forward to a more developed Negros and Philippines.
After the 10-module sessions, the program will help mentees present and refine their business plans for possible financial support.
The ANP official said that since there was no program like this before, businesses then had to look for their own resources.
"It's good now that linking enterprises to financial institutions has become a mainstream program," Gaston said.
The ANP is optimistic that eventually more entrepreneurs from the province will be transformed into strong and more competitive mentees, Gaston added.