■ TRADE AGENCY IN CEBU GETS P2.5M FOR MENTORSHIP PROGRAMS
A budget of P1.5M has been earmarked to roll out the KMM program, which is now on its third batch, while P1M has been allotted to fund the ARAL program.
To help develop micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in Cebu, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) 7 has booked a total of P2.5 million in funds that the agency hopes will sustain mentorship programs. About P1.5 million has been earmarked for the Kapatid Mentor Me program, which offers a 12-week course that teaches new entrepreneurs a range of skills. At the launch last Tuesday of the Kapatid Mentor Me’s third batch in Cebu, DTI revealed that 28 MSMEs have qualified. So far, 57 have completed the program. Mentorship is one component of the services and support that the administration has offered to entrepreneurs. The others are access to financing and connections to potential markets.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-Cebu has booked a total of P2.5 million for mentorship programs intended for Cebu-based micro, small, and medium entrepreneurs (MSMEs) this year.
Of the total funding, some P1.5 million has been earmarked for the implementation of the Kapatid Mentor Me (KMM) program, a 12-week course on entrepreneurship, which has been already rolled out to two batches.
The DTI Cebu said the same funding will be used to support the third batch of KMM, composed of 28 MSMEs, that was formally lauched last Tuesday at the Marco Polo Plaza Cebu.
Since its launching in the last quarter of 2016, KMM in Cebu has produced a total of 57 graduates.
“There’s a long line of applicants for Mentor Me. Sixty applied, and only 28 got in,” said DTI Cebu Director Maria Elena Arbon, adding that some of the MSMEs who joined the third batch had applied for the second batch as well.
ANAK program
Mentorship is one of the three pillars of the Duterte administration for MSMEs.
Under a “3M” acronym, the two others include money or access to finance and market or linking MSMEs to the value chain of large corporations, said Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion.
To expand mentorship to the grassroots level, DTI Cebu also launched on Tuesday Negosyo 101, which was rebranded to ANAK or Aral Negosyo Angat Kapatid program.
The mentorship will still be in cooperation with the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) under a seven-module course, which will be conducted in the 11 Negosyo Centers scattered across the province.
Arbon said DTI Cebu will use P1 million of the P73-million Yolanda funds, which the provincial office obtained early this year.
Virgilio Espeleta, KMM Cebu dean, said the private sector has shown strong support to the mentorship program, and hopes that this will be sustained for more years.
“My wish is that this is going to be sustained...We should not be politically-colored because this is for business. You have seen now how the business (sector) is supporting it,” said Espeleta, who also sits as CCCI vice president for business development.
He said the Ayala group is interested to implement a similar format of mentorship program for their merchants inside Ayala-owned malls.
Best intervention
Meanwhile, Arbon underscored that this governmentfunded mentorship program will be sustained under the Duterte administration.
DTI 7 Assistant Regional Director Nelia Navarro described the mentorship program as the “best intervention” for MSMEs to grow their business. Navarro said that Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri expressed support for the program. This could mean funds for the mentorship programs in the next years.
Also this year, the DTI in the provinces of Bohol and Siquijor received P750,000 each for the roll-out of the KMM program.