True to its thrust to propel micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) toward innovative and competitive business environment, the Department of Trade and Industry Region 1 in partnership with Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship (PCE) launched the Kapatid Mentor Me Program (KMME) at Hotel Marand, Bauang, La Union on May 8, 2017.

The Kapatid Mentor ME Program aims to assist MSMEs scale up and sustain their businesses through weekly coaching and mentoring by business owners and practitioners on different functional areas of entrepreneurship.

The Region 1 Kapatid Mentor Me Launch at Hotel Marand, Bauang, La Union on May 8, 2017.

Some 200 MSMEs from La Union attended the launching.

La Union is the first province in the region to roll-out the said program after its successful pilot run last March 8, 2017 in Samar. KMME will run in 89 areas in 16 regions throughout the country until the end of the year.

The 11-week program will have weekly modules such as Marketing, Financial Management, Human Resource Management, Operations Management among others. On the 11th week, the mentee is required to present his/her business improvement plan, incorporating the learning from the lectures and mentoring sessions.

Other provinces in the region are scheduled to have the same activity; Pangasinan on June, Ilocos Sur on July and Ilocos Norte on October.