Third batch of MSMEs to graduate next month

CEBU, Philippines — The third batch of the Kapatid Mentor Me (KMM) program of the Department of Trade and Industry is set to graduate on October 3.

The DTI announced at least 26 Cebuano micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are to graduate from the mentorship program this coming Oct. 3 in City Sports Club.

These entrepreneurs are into different sectors such as processed food, trading and services.

About 50 percent of the mentees are engaged in the food sector including food production and processing. Others are into the services industry.

KMM is a 12-module mentoring session for MSEs to help scale up their business through weekly coaching and mentoring by business owners and practitioners on the different areas of entrepreneurship.

The goal of the program is to produce confident entrepreneurs with the right mindset and business knowhow that will enable them to sustain and scale up their business.

The entrepreneurial mentoring program is led by DTI, Go Negosyo and the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI).

The program aims to help micro and small entrepreneurs scale up their businesses through the coaching and mentoring of business owners, practitioners, and experts on different areas of entrepreneurship.

The mentoring program also aims to make the idea of entrepreneurship less intimidating to people and provide them with the confidence to surmount the obstacles. The idea is to pass on business knowledge to starting entrepreneurs and provide them with concrete guidance on specific entrepreneurial and business ideas.

Mentorship is powerful and is a key element in helping those who want to become entrepreneurs and even entrepreneurs who want to become more successful.

In a previous interview, Virgilio Espeleta, KMM's lead mentor and vice president for business development of CCCI, had the fourth batch of the KMM is seen to be launched in the first quarter of next year.

MSMEs account for 99.6 percent of the total enterprises in the Philippines with Central Visayas ranking third in having the most MSMEs in the country.

Republic Act No. 10644 also known as the “Go Negosyo Act” which seeks to strengthen MSMEs to create more job opportunities in the country.

Its basic policy is to foster national development, promote inclusive growth, and reduce poverty by encouraging the establishment of MSMEs that facilitate local job creation, production, and trade in the country. (FREEMAN)