TO PUSH for entrepreneurship at the grassroots level, 49 barangay captains in Cebu City have participated in the orientation of the Barangay-Based Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program (BBEMP).
The BBEMP is an economic stimulus program that aims to capacitate and build confidence of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to pivot, reboot and reformat their business models to recover and build back better from the Covid-19 pandemic.
It is one of the pillars of the Cebu Investments Development Concierge Center (CIDCC) to be implemented by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) in partnership with the Cebu City Government.
CCCI tapped Famcor Franchise Management and Executive Development Corp. (Famcor) to execute the program in collaboration with the Liga Ng Mga Barangay and the Cebu City Planning Office.
“This is to help strengthen local and affected businesses right now because of the pandemic,” said CCCI immediate past president Virgilio Espeleta, who is also Famcor’s president.
Espeleta said they received a commitment from the barangay captains to cascade the program to the MSMEs in their respective jurisdictions.
The orientations conducted on July 26, 2021 were attended by 32 barangay chiefs out of the 46 from the north district in the morning and 17 barangay chiefs out of the 34 from the south district in the afternoon.
Espeleta said they target to mentor 3,200 micro-entrepreneurs in 80 barangays in Cebu City.
The program is free and is open to all Cebu City-based MSMEs regardless of the type of industry. It doesn’t require educational background, years in business and number of employees. The program is also open to businesses already registered or undergoing registration process.
Currently, the mentorship will be held online due to the quarantine status but it also has onsite batches.
Espeleta said mentees who will need internet connectivity will be aided with data allowance from PLDT.
The five-week program seeks the barangay captains’ active support to identify MSMEs to participate in the program.
In the sixth week, participants will be given the chance to present their Business Rebound and Resiliency Plan.
The participants will be taught five vital modules, namely entrepreneurial mindset amid the pandemic realities, pandemic business model canvas, marketing and access to the market, operations management and financial measures, sources and uses of funds.
To join the program, interested entrepreneurs may register at https://www.facebook.com/BBEMP. (JOB)