BUSINESS COACHING. Around 20 small and medium entrepreneurs (MSEs) from Cavite pose for posterity after finishing the Department of Trade and Industry's (DTI) Kapatid Mentor Me (KMME) Program in General Trias City, Cavite on Nov. 15, 2018. (Photo courtesy of DTI Calabarzon)
CALAMBA CITY, Laguna – Around 20 micro and small enterprises (MSEs) from Cavite are leveling up to achieve business growth, productivity and marketability of their products through the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) KAPATID Mentor Me Program.
Mia Angeline V. Cortez, DTI regional public information officer, said the Cavite MSEs undertook their DTI’s Kapatid Mentor Me Program in the Calabarzon Region in partnership with the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship Inc.- Go Negosyo.
Cortez told Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Monday that the 20 growing entrepreneurs who completed the KMME program sessions in General Trias City, Cavite are now scaling up their businesses following the coaching and mentoring program sessions with experts and industry leaders.
She said the batch was provided with a series of free mentoring sessions to assist small players scale up their businesses and contribute to economic growth and address issues of unemployment, job mismatches, and migration.
DTI Calabarzon Regional Director Marilou Q. Toledo welcomed the empowered 20 MSEs mentees who undertook the modular training sessions with technical concepts, equipping them with the basic jargons and protocols in running a business.
“I always emphasize that the world is our market because I want our micro, small, and medium enterprises to realize that opportunities for them are everywhere. Through KMME, we want to take our MSMEs to a whole new level of success and grab these opportunities as we envision them to be globally competitive,” said Toledo.
According to Cortez, the lecture presentations and materials were simplified for effective comprehension as coaches and mentors provided actual examples and illustrations on the subject matter for the MSE mentees.
She said that part of the program is the preparation and presentation of the Business Improvement Plan (BIP) to build the mentees’ confidence and provide them the avenue to showcase their planned improvement strategies entirely banked on their Business Model Canvas.
“KMME taught me the value of knowing and loving my product. I learned that it is important to have continuous research and development to improve the product, to make sure to document everything that happens in your business, and to be open to critics and suggestions regarding your business,” said one of the KMME mentees Lea Resa Panganiban of David’s Faith Fruit Wine Manufacturing.
Starting her business in 2014, Panganiban’s enterprise produces wine made from all-natural ingredients like the Insulin plant scientifically called “Costus igneus Nak” grown from the fertile soil of Tagaytay City.
Another single mom entrepreneur, Delia “Dhel” Gambol of Dhelightful Creations ventured into bead jewelry-making by using up-cycled materials like tahong shells, river stones, mahogany fruit and fish scales.
Despite her working single mom status, Dhel was challenged to explore various earning opportunities in sales, marketing, and tutoring while working full-time as an employee to earn sufficiently enough for their needs.
Cortez also said the MSEs were challenged when the panel of evaluators tested the mentees' competencies and acquired entrepreneurial knowledge during the presentations of their business investment plans.
The panel members were representatives from government, academe and private sectors such as DTI, Provincial Cooperative, Livelihood and Entrepreneurial Development Office (PCLEDO)-Cavite, VCargo Worldwide, Inter-Asia Bank, Windel Woodcraft, Delfa’s Food Product, Tokyo Tempura, Café Amadeo Development Cooperative, and the De La Salle-Dasmarinas.
KMME mentees were graded based on the effectiveness of their presentations such as the organization, flow, time, and effectiveness to response to audience questions and comments, including their application of learning from the modules.
During the evaluation program, Em Cruz of Take-away Sisig and Bea Belardo of Belardo Coffee Enterprise were chosen as Kalye Negosyo scholars by Tokyo Tempura President Jorge Wieneke III.
Kalye Negosyo is the mentoring advocacy, which helps micro-entrepreneurs at the grassroots level become bigger and better entrepreneurs.
Paulo Tibig, president of VCargo Worldwide and an EntreChamp, also presented to Teresa Fernandez of El Rimms Food Products the special award as Most Disruptive MSE, a promising MSE that would likely become successful in business. (PNA)
