TRECE MARTIRES CITY, Cavite – Some twenty mentees from Cavite’s micro, small and medium entrepreneurs (MSMEs) have embarked on their 1st week of the 12-week coaching mentoring sessions under the “Mentor-Micro Entrepreneur (Mentor Me), a program of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) with the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship (PCE), at the DTI office here.
In an interview with Philippine News Agency, DTI Cavite Director Noly Guevara on Tuesday said the MSME mentees are now in their Module 3 of the 10-module sessions.
The “Mentor Me” program is aimed at equipping MSMEs with the needed skills to scale up and sustain their enterprise by way of theoretical/conceptual discussions (lectures) and mentoring/coaching sessions, undertaken with institutions specializing in functional areas of entrepreneurship.
A requirement for graduation is the presentation of the mentees business improvement plans, after applying all the learning from the lectures and mentoring sessions.
The mentees were formally welcomed during the program’s launch at the Fora Mall, in Tagaytay City on Aug. 24.
DTI lead official Carina Virtucio, Supervising Trade and Industry Development Specialist represented DTI Regional Director Marilou Q. Toledo during the event.
The mentees also completed two modules during that day, on ‘Entrepreneurial Mindsetting and Values Formation,’ managed by Entrep Champ and owner of VCargo Worldwide Paulo M. Tibig; while the “Marketing” module was managed by Jennifer B. Wieneke, Director for Marketing of Tokyo Tempura.
The sessions also included briefings on the BMBE Law and its benefits, such as income tax exemption from income arising from the operations of the enterprise; exemption from the coverage of the Minimum Wage Law, where BMBE employees will still receive the same social security and health care benefits as other employees.
Also the mentoring and coaching sessions presented the priority to a special credit window set up specifically for the financing of BMBEs; and technology transfer, production and management training, and marketing assistance programs for BMBE beneficiaries; with lecture cum presentations by Kenneth Francis A. Fernandez, DTI’s Trade Industry Devt Specialist.
DTI also arranged local entrepreneurs, who were graduates of the program in 2016 and 2017, namely Nelson Noceda (La Noceda Food Products, Inc), Nico Amora (E-Harvest Corp) and Merlie Del Mundo (Merniel’s Food Products), to inspire the mentees with their success stories.
The 20 mentees belong to the 3rd batch, since the program was launched in 2016.
Graduates of batches 1 and 2 also showed up to further inspire the new batch of mentees.
The graduates were also there, "as we are hiring mentors in the next 7 seminars" from the graduates, explained DTI Cavite Division Chief Revelyn Cortez who, on behalf of DTI Cavite Director Noly Guevara closed the program by conveying DTI's appreciation to all participants.
Cortez likewise expressed the agency's continued commitment to assist the local MSMEs to further fuel the economic development in the province. (PNA)
