Despite the limitations brought by the Covid-19 pandemic, micro small and medium enterprises in Central Luzon continue their learning through the online mentoring program of the Department of Trade and Industry Regional Office III (DTI-3).
In a statement, DTI-3 Regional Director Judith P. Angeles said that the Kapatid Mentor Micro Entrepreneurs (KMME)and the Money Market Encounter (MME) are still being implemented by the department in partnership with the Go Negosyo/Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship headed by Presidential Adviser Joey Concepcion. She said that the first batch of 42 mentees in Central Luzon are about to finish the 12 module course of KMME in the next few weeks. She also noted that DTI is still inviting micro entrepreneurs from all over Central Luzon to apply as a prospective mentee of the KMME program for its second batch run this year. Applicants must at least be of legal age, must have at least one year of operation as a business entity and must be willing to commit to faithfully attend the weekly sessions of the course. At the end of the course, the mentees must also prepare and present a Business Improvement Plan which will be assessed by a panel of experts for implementation by the KMME mentees. During the Business Improvement Plan implementation, the DTI will continue to monitor and assess the mentee on how effective their plan is.
The KMME 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. The Money Market Encounter is an online interaction and learning program wherein experts and leaders of financial institutions meet KMME graduates to assist and mentor them in terms of financial management.
The 2nd run of KMME in Central Luzon for this will be on September 10, 20020. Interested applicants may contact the nearest DTI provincial office in their area. They may also initially send a message through the social media account of DTI using the Facebook handle : DTI Centralluzon.