30 entrepreneurs to train in DTI’s KMM program

Another batch of Cebuano entrepreneurs will go through mentoring in the fourth Kapatid Mentor Me (KMM) which seeks to mold more business-minded individuals.

Asteria Caberte, director of the Department of Trade and Industry in Central Visayas, said the 30 entrepreneurs will undergo 12 mentoring sessions.

Among the program's new mentors include Coffee Dream owner Glenn Soco, Cebu's Chocolate Queen and Ralfe Gourmet founder Raquel Choa and Tatah Dela Calazada, owner of Cebuano clothing brandATE. KMM's previous three batches already mentored a total of 83 entrepreneurs in Cebu.

"This September we are also going to launch the fifth batch," Caberte said.

Choa said mentoring is very essential to create more entrepreneurs in the community.

"Each one of us is an inspiration to one another. When we inspire others, it's the beginning of mentorship. Each one of us is designed to mentor each other. Mentorship is part of our lives," she said.

The new KMM entrepreneurs include those engaged in food business, food processing and services. KMM is a 12-module mentoring session for small entrepreneurs to help scale up their business through weekly coaching and mentoring by business owners and practitioners on the different areas of entrepreneurship.

The goal of the program is to produce confident entrepreneurs with the right mindset and business know-how that will enable them to sustain and scale up their business.

The entrepreneurial mentoring program is led by DTI, Go Negosyo and the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The mentoring program also aims to make the idea of entrepreneurship less intimidating to people and provide them with the confidence to surmount the obstacles.

The idea is to pass on business knowledge to starting entrepreneurs and provide them with concrete guidance on specific entrepreneurial and business aspects.