DTI 'Mentor ME' program to support more small firms in Palawan

• Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1006821
• Sunday, August 20, 2017

By Celeste Anna Formoso

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan -- The Department of Trade and Industry's (DTI) second round of "Kapatid Mentor ME" (KMME) program aims to support more small business owners here in partnership with the Office of the 3rd Palawan District and the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship-Go Negosyo (PCE-GN).

Jointly launched here on Friday, the Kapatid Mentor Micro Entrepreneurs (ME) or KMME program welcomed in the event 150 micro- and small-enterprises (MSEs) from the 3rd Palawan District represented in the Lower House by Rep. Gil Acosta, and two other districts of the province .

The initiative is to help the country’s MSEs through coaching and mentoring approach, where they are tutored by large corporations on the different aspects of business operations; adopt-a-SSF (shared service facility) by providing them access to SSFs in their community; and inclusive business (IB) business model where they are linked to large companies’ value chains.

Like the first KMME in the province, DTI-Palawan Provincial Director Rosenda Fortunado hopes the program would be able to provide the MSEs with additional information and training in order to level up their ventures may they be new or have been engaged in their businesses for a long time.

“This is open to individuals who are dreaming to have their own businesses, or those that have been engaged in the businesses they do but want to expand them,” Fortunado said.

Fortunado said the second "Kapatid Mentor ME" initially wanted to only target participants from the 3rd Palawan District because of Rep. Acosta, but due to the clamor, the congressman agreed to also open the opportunity to others in the first and second districts.

Agnes Acosta-Magdaug of the Office of the 3rd Palawan District said the interest in jointly implementing the second batch took off in one of the meetings of the Committee on Business and Entrepreneurship Development, where congressmen were encouraged to bring the program to their districts.

“From there, the congressmen were invited to bring the Kapatid Mentor ME to their districts for their constituents to benefit. In our district, there are associations of small entrepreneurs we are helping and they will be screened by the DTI to see if they can join in the program and be mentored,” Magdaug said.