ASEAN and AMEN get high trust

The result of a nationwide survey conducted by Pulse Asia indicated a high trust rating among Filipinos for ASEAN compared to APEC. This is a positive effect of our recent and successful chairmanship last 2017 which focused on inclusive growth. The Philippine chairmanship resulted to many positive outcomes including investments, partnerships, and also programs that empowered more ASEAN members. One of the outcome is our legacy project in ASEAN BAC which is the ASEAN Mentorship for Entrepreneurs Network (AMEN) which aims to provide an public-private partnership platform where mentors and world-class teaching modules for MSMEs can be developed and actively shared among ASEAN member-countries.

Just recently, we received the approval of AMEN from the Japanese government through the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF) and moving forward, the programs under AMEN will soon be supported and funded by JAIF for a duration of nine months. This is one of the major developments for AMEN.

This development comes after the successful launch during the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in November 2017 together with President Duterte who expressed his strong support for the program and commended the mentors for devoting their time and sharing their expertise. In 2018, AMEN was also launched in Australia, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand.

We are proud that the mentorship program, which started in Go Negosyo, is now going global and helping more micro and small entrepreneurs.

I remember when Go Negosyo started in 2005, not everyone was open to the idea of entrepreneurship. Doing business was not the first career choice out of college. But today, many are already jumping into the bandwagon of entrepreneurship. But how can one become an entrepreneur immediately? While it is terrifying but equally fulfilling to start your own business, some start their entrepreneurial journey by franchising.

Franchising is basically an arrangement for a franchisor to give rights and license to use his business trademark, including its processes and systems, to a franchisee in order to sell a product or service to a certain market. These franchise models are well-known brands that have a proven system of operations and have already established a demand and market for their products and services.

Despite having tried and tested business models,  a franchisee must still be committed, focused, and passionate in leading the business. After all, a franchise must find the right business model based on his interests and passions. The good thing today is that almost all businesses can now be franchised. From the usual food businesses to services like salons, water refilling stations, spas, and others.

In the past mentoring sessions we had, we met several aspiring entrepreneurs who are taking their first step towards entrepreneurship through franchising. Some small and medium entrepreneurs are also growing their business by making them available for franchise.

To better guide aspiring franchisors and franchisees, Go Negosyo collaborated with two of the biggest franchising organizations in the country. Our long-time advocacy partners Philippine Franchising Association (PFA) and Association of Filipino Franchisers Inc. (AFFI) are coming together for the first time to mentor aspiring entrepreneurs on Jan. 29 at the Event Center of SM Megamall for the Go Negosyo Mentor Me On Wheels.

From the successful 13 launches last year catering to around 4,000 mentees, our Mentor Me On Wheels will start its series of launches this year in one of the busiest malls in the country. We expect a large crowd of possible franchisors and franchisees to be mentored by more than 100 successful franchise owners such as Samie Lim, chairman emeritus of PFA; Alan Escalona, chairman of PFA and CEO of Fruit Magic; Richard Sanz, president of PFA and CEO of Bibingkinita; Joyce Co-Yu, president of AFFI and owner of True Blends Tea & Coffee; Eric Caeg, chairman of AFFI and owner of Retail Academy Philippines; and Jorge Wieneke, vice president of AFFI and president and CEO of Tokyo Tempura.

We invite everyone to be part of this free one-on-one mentoring session. Interested participants may register at: www.tinyurl.com/MMOWMandaluyong.

Everyone has a chance to become an entrepreneur. Some will pursue their business ideas, while some can become franchisees. Whichever path one chooses, with a positive mindset, trained skills, and good mentors, one can be successful!