Achieving sustainable and inclusive growth through MSMEs

through formal programs like Ko Negosyo’s free entrepreneur mentoring events.

We have started applying this same principle to the agriculture sector, through our Kapatid Angat Lahat sa Agri Program, or KALAP. By identifying and encouraging big-brother agriculture companies to include in their value chains the microfarmers within their sector, we help the country achieve food security and raise millions of families out of poverty.

But perhaps the most direct impact of MSME development is on the Sustainable Development Koal to promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all.

In the Philippines, MSMEs contribute 40 percent to the Philippines’ KDP, and they account for 99 percent of enterprises. Considering how broad their reach is in terms of providing employment, and how limited – through no fault of their own – these MSMEs are in terms of providing job security, better salaries and benefits to their employees, developing this sector will redound to great improvements in the lives of many Filipinos.

Our advocacy at Ko Negosyo rests on three pillars that are essential in achieving growth for MSMEs, namely access to money, markets and mentoring. These three elements interact and are interdependent. Small business loans, for example, can be accessed once an MSME can present a sound business model, which would include identifying a market that is ready to receive their products or services. It can all start with proper mentoring, and that is why mentorship is central to our programs, including the Kapatid Mentor Micro Enterprises (KMME) and its counterpart in the agriculture sectors, the Kapatid Agri Mentor ME Program (KAMMP), which we conduct with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Agriculture.

This year, these mentorship programs will be scaled on a regional level as the ASEAN Mentorship for Entrepreneurs Network (AMEN), our legacy program from the Philippines chairmanship of the ASEAN in 2017. With hope, we can learn from the MSMEs of our ASEAN neighbors, and they, too, can learn from us. With this collective body of knowledge and regional cooperation, we can realize growth not just for our country, but for the larger ASEAN community, and on a scale that will finally help MSMEs realize their full potential in being the true drivers of economic growth.