Citing the huge gain in market share, knowledge in entrepreneurial management and trade fair sales of graduates of the Kapatid Mentor Micro Entrepeneurs(KMME) program of DTI in the past years, the agency vows to continue the program to benefit qualified entrepreneurs in the region.
Judith P. Angeles, Regional Director of DTI Region 3 said that in 2020 the DTI and the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship will again partner in conducting a series of KMME runs in Central Luzon. The seven provincial offices of DTI will each conduct a KMME session that will have at least 20 mentee entrepreneurs. The agency is targeting at least 140 participants for the mentoring program for this year.
Under the KMME program, Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) who will qualify for the program will undergo a 12–module course in the different aspects of entrepreneurship under the mentorship of industry experts, successful businessmen and members of the academe.
In 2019, KMME graduates from Central Luzon accounted for 97 of the 173 participants of the Likhang Central Luzon Trade Fair, one of the most awaited trade fair events in the country. Because of this, the mentoring program graduates were able to widen their market by selling to institutional buyers and mainstreaming their products in retail malls, supermarkets and retail chains. Some of the MSME participants were also able to penetrate into the international market because of the presence of foreign buyers and “balikbayans.”
The 97 mentees who participated in the 2019 LikhaTrade Fair were able to earn a total of Php 5.8Million in the five-day fair held at the SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City. Most of the mentees were involved in the production and selling of processed food, home furnishings and wearables.
Director Judith Angeles added that the mentoring program is a holistic program that is meant to capacitate entrepreneurs not only in terms of efficiently producing their products but also in terms of being coached in areas like human resources, marketing, costing, taxation, entrepreneurial mindset and other aspects of entrepreneurship. She said that the next batch of KMME will commence in March 2020 so she is encouraging all interested entrepreneurs to contact the nearest DTI provincial office to learn on how to participate in the program.
