'ANGELPRENEURS'. (Seated from left) Negrense entrepreneur Jojo Vito, Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Roberto Montelibano, Provincial Small and Medium Enterprise Development Council chairperson Mary Ann Colmenares, Provincial Economic Enterprise Department head Lucille Gelvolea and DTI-Negros Occidental provincial director Lea Gonzales, with some of the accredited national mentors from Negros Occidental during the “Mentor Me on Wheels” event as part of the 11th Negros Business Week, which runs at Robinsons Place Bacolod until Wednesday ( July 17, 2019). The mentors are called 'angelpreneurs' for helping their fellow entrepreneurs. (Photo by Erwin P. Nicavera)
BACOLOD CITY -- A total of 13 leading Negrense entrepreneurs have been accredited as national mentors by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship (PCE), an official said on Tuesday.
DTI-Negros Occidental provincial director Lea Gonzales said the chosen mentors are assisting them in scaling up other micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) under the “Kapatid Mentor Me” program.
“They have qualified businesses, their enterprises have excelled, based on the assessment of the PCE,” Gonzales noted.
The group includes Mary Ann Colmenares, chairman of the Provincial Small and Medium Enterprise Development (SMED) Council and Christina Marie Gaston, chairperson of Association of Negros Producer, as well as Doreen Alicia Peña, Emily Yulo, Bebelan Madera, Dr. Mercedes Canal, Dr. Felix Cena, Dr. Eric Arthur Dio, and lawyer Pearl Montesino.
Others are Pamela Henares, Sammy Nuarbe, Manna Tambasen, and Jojo Vito.
Gonzales said under the “Kapatid Mentor Me” program, which is a collaboration between the DTI and the PCE, the mentors are called “angelpreneurs” for helping their fellow entrepreneurs.
The DTI and the PCE have been banking on mentorship as an effective tool to upgrade local MSMEs, including those in Negros Occidental.
Since 2017, a total of 58 graduate-mentees in the province have already benefited from the “Kapatid Mentor Me” program.
As part of the 11th Negros Business Week, which runs until Wednesday at Robinsons Place Bacolod, the “Mentor Me on Wheels” program organized a one-on-one mentorship for some 80 aspiring and existing entrepreneurs with nine Negrense mentors.
Gonzales said they are also working on the accreditation as national mentors of some graduate-mentees from Negros Occidental.
“We have potential mentees who are willing to assist entrepreneurs and become mentors through direct and interactive discussion and sharing of experiences,” she noted.
Gonzales said the DTI and the PCE were able to bring the “Mentor Me on Wheels” to Negros Occidental through the assistance of Colmenares.
“We really don’t need to have a huge budget for this as the mentors are willing to provide their services for free,” she added. (PNA)
