MSMEs get big boost from Kuya Rody

DAVAO CITY – President Duterte did not cuss, as he usually does when giving speeches, and turned into a caring “Kuya Rody” to hundreds of micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) entrepreneurs gathered for a town hall meeting at the Marco Polo Hotel here Friday evening.

The President gave a pep talk to more than 700 entrepreneurs who joined the gathering, which was also the official launch of the Mentor ME Program of Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship Inc.- Go Negosyo and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

The President also witnessed the awarding of loans to five micro entrepreneurs amounting to P2 million by the DTl’s Small Business Corp., a program on small enterprise development financing.

Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion said they have asked the President to become the “Kuya

Rody” or Big Brother to the country’s entrepreneurs included in the Mentor Me program.

“It is innate in every Filipino to help their kapatid. For many entrepreneurs, they have mentors who will guide and support them in their business. So in line with President Duterte’s agenda of helping micro and small entrepreneurs, we asked him to be Kuya Rody or the Big Brother to the whole entrepreneurship community,” Concepcion said.

The Mentor ME concept is considered a tool for success, particularly for budding entrepreneurs.

Considered small enterprises are those with capitalization of P3 million to P30 million, while medium enterprises are those with P100 million and below in capitalization.

The President apparently took his role as kuya seriously, giving advice to microentrepreneur Imelda Basilan, a maruya vendor who has been peddling the fried bananas for 15 years near the Davao City Hall where the President held office for 23 years as city mayor. Maruya is said to be one of the few comfort foods of the President.

The President told Basilan to try venturing into other businesses aside from selling maruya.

The President said he was impressed with Basilan as she was able to send her daughter to college just by selling maruya. Her daughter finished nursing.

The President said he is willing to help Basilan expand her business if she would be able to come up with another business venture.

The President introduced Basilan to the community of medium and large entrepreneurs who, in a way, can help her grow and sustain her business further.

Basilan was just one of the hundreds of entrepreneurs who participated in the Mentor ME program, a component of the “Kapatid Angat Lahat” along with the Adopt a Shared Service Facilities and Inclusive Business components.

The President also discussed with the entrepreneurs the MSME development plans of his administration.

Friday night’s town hall session with the President was simulcast by live stream with the Cebu launch at the Waterfront Hotel in Lahug.

Concepcion said that the idea behind the Kapatid mechanism is to link the micro and small entrepreneurs or small brothers to the big brothers in the industry.

Davao City has been identified as one of the eight pilot areas for the initial implementation of the program. In Davao City, two centers have been launched at Magsaysay Park Complex and in Toril.

Other pilot areas that have been identified for the program are Baguio, Iloilo, Cebu, Tacloban, Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro and General Santos City.

The Mentor ME program will be implemented for 11 weeks from Oct. 12 to Dec. 21.

The launching on Friday of the program included discussions on topics like re-thinking agriculture as business, mindset and values of successful agri-preneurs, marketing and market trends and how to competitively brand your product and business, and inspirational stories of creative ideas turned into successful businesses.

Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez said the Mentor Me program is aimed at capacitating and developing further the MSMEs for them to become more competitive and sustainable.

Through the program, the MSMEs would be able to help reduce unemployment and poverty as well as help the country achieve inclusive growth.

Lopez said that the program would be initially implemented in the identified pilot areas but by next year it would be expanded nationwide in all the areas where Negosyo Centers are established.

Lopez said the program enjoins big firms to tie up with MSMEs. The arrangement can help big companies access raw materials at lower prices.

“It’s a win-win solution,” Lopez said, adding, “It is also in line with the administration’s goal of prosperity for all.”

There are 308 Negosyo Centers in the country, 14 of which are in Southern Mindanao.

And by next year, DTI hopes to establish 21 more centers in the region and 49 more in the entire country.

The Mentor ME program involves one-on-one weekly mentoring sessions by business owners and practitioners with micro entrepreneurs on different functional areas of entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurs are then expected to discuss topics such as setting the entrepreneurship mindset, marketing and market trends, operations management, human resource management, supply and value chain and financial management, among others, for the duration of the program.

Trade officials said that after 11 sessions, the recipients would be able to upgrade their status from micro to small or even bigger enterprises.

Participating entrepreneurs who finish the mentoring sessions are expected to come up with reentry plan or feasibility study for their business.

DTI officials stressed that for one to qualify as beneficiary of the Mentor ME program, his or her venture should be registered or with a business permit and operating for at least one year. An applicant should be a resident of Davao City, at least 18 years old and must be committed to allocate time for the 11-week mentoring sessions.

Local business experts coming from the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. are expected to act as mentors of the micro entrepreneurs.