MCCI picks 10 entrepreneurs for Men in Business program

The Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) has selected 10 male start-up entrepreneurs to participate in the 2nd Men in Business (MIB) program this year.

Out of 21 neophyte entrepreneurs examined by the MIB committee, 10 have been chosen to compete in a program aimed at helping the traders from the grassroots to level up and become legitimate and professional business player, said MIB vice chair Girlie Garces.

According Garces, these small businessmen are into different interests such as printing, retailing, selling fish, food, sari-sari stores, among others.

“MIB program’s main aim is to led these small businessmen to professional level; teach them how to [properly] access capital, train them how to operate and manage business and help them see the bigger picture beyond their small businesses,” explained Garces.

Initiated by the MCCI as one of the highlights of the annual Mandaue Business Month (MBM) celebration, MIB is also planning to invite other agencies in the government like the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), among others to connect these micro businessmen to proper agencies.

DOLE for instance, she said has an existing funding for skills development, which also includes entrepreneurship.

Now on its second season, Garces said the organizers are also planning to build a sustainable program for these men and the future participants in the coming years.

Through another partnership with San Miguel Corporation, MIB was first launched in 2017 SMB, to startoff a conscious action micro-enterprise development targeted at male residents of Mandaue City who are heads of families, and are into informal businesses, under the umbrella of underground economy.