MANILA – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) continues to support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in rural areas through its mentorship program, the Kapatid Mentor ME (KMME).
Following a ceremonial signing Monday, the DTI mentorship program will also be rolled out in its Rural Agro-enterprise Partnership for Inclusive Development and Growth (RAPID Growth) project, which aims to boost agro-enterprise development in the country.
The RAPID-KMME program is a 12-module mentorship program that aims to provide a comprehensive framework in promoting rural enterprises and value chain development.
Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship (PCE) - Go Negosyo senior adviser for MSMEs Merly Cruz said the pilot batch of the program has 42 mentees in seven regions.
The PCE-Go Negosyo is DTI’s partner for the KMME program.
Cruz added that the pilot batch of mentees is from Eastern Visayas, the Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, the Davao Region, Soccsksargen, Caraga , and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Each region has six mentees – three MSMEs and three farmer cooperatives – in four industry clusters: coffee, cacao, coconut, and processed fruits and nuts.
She said with the current situation amid the pandemic, the mentorship program would be done online.
Project director Edwin Banquerigo said the RAPID Growth project targets to increase the income of 78,000 households by 60 percent, and double the income of more than 1,000 MSMEs in the four industry clusters in seven regions.
The project also aims to generate 31,000 more jobs and 155,000 indirect jobs in rural areas.
Meanwhile, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the agency has various programs that would complement the RAPID-KMME program in terms of financing and providing linkages to the market.
“It’s important that with this partnership, together with the other partnerships of RAPID, we are able to inject serious training, mentoring, improvements in the business plans, and at the end of the day increase income for both MSMEs and farmers and generate more employment for the country,” he said. (PNA)
