Davao City – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) office here has vowed to continue with its interventions for the youth.
In 2021, the agency dedicated 20 percent of its 118 Negosyo Center-based activities to this sector. This means that 24 of the 118 free webinars and training programs conducted last year were for the young generation, particularly those aged 15 to 35 years old.
It is worth noting that DTI operates three Negosyo Centers in the city, which can be found in the following accessible locations: inside the local government unit’s Investment Promotion Center (near People’s Park); beside the Toril barangay hall; and within the Calinan district offices.
With these facilities located strategically in the different parts of their area of jurisdiction, DTI-Davao City director Rachel S. Remitio shared that they can reach more clients, adding that they were able to serve 708 youth participants last year.
“Most of these beneficiaries are students, which is a good sign that the young ones are interested to go into business. This further shows that they have the drive to learn the ropes of running an enterprise,” Remitio said.
The local trade official said that the Negosyo Center activities for the youth sector were done in partnership with the academe. Specifically, these schools included the Holy Cross College of Calinan, St. Peters College of Toril, Lyceum of the Philippines, Davao Central College, Ateneo de Davao University, Malayan Colleges of Mindanao, Lyceum of the Philippines University, University of Southeastern Philippines, University of Mindanao, and Philippine Women’s’ College (PWC) Davao.
“The pandemic could have dampened our spirit, but we can always choose to look at the brighter side of it. There are opportunities we can tap, and we can learn a new thing or two while trying to develop a business concept. This is what we exactly adopted in our interventions for the youth,” Remitio said.
Likewise, she emphasized that by providing them with knowledge beyond the four corners of their classrooms, they are being prepared for the realities and expectations of entrepreneurship.
“This can help them take on baby steps when starting their entrepreneurial journey,” she said.
Some of the topics discussed were digital entrepreneurship and marketing, social media management and marketing, basic information related to setting up a business, as well as consumer education.
“These webinars aimed to capacitate the youth on how to start and maximize the available digital resources in doing business, and their relevance in the new normal set-up,” Remitio said.
Aside from the academe-requested activities, several beneficiaries also attended those which the Negosyo Centers conducted regularly, such as How to Invest in the Philippine Stock Market, Entrepreneurial Capacity Building (Mindsetting and Marketing), and orientations on Intellectual Property Philippines services and on packaging and labeling. There were webinars, too, from DTI’s public and private sector partners. The Philippine Franchise Association, GCash, Lazada, Food Panda, and Knights of Online Marketers were tapped during the Pinoy MSME Week series of webinars in July 2021.
Furthermore, highlighting the 2021 interventions for the youth was the regional virtual business pitching competition wherein four schools from Davao City joined. They presented their business ideas anchored on the theme “Sustainable Consumption and Production.”
The Lyceum of the Philippines – Junior College Davao bagged the Best in Business Pitching, with their idea of LearnerDirect. This is an e-learning platform that addresses the needs of those with learning disabilities.
“The pitching tilt aimed to promote the youth’s creativity and develop their ability to implement innovation and embrace an entrepreneurial mindset. These business opportunities are expected to create a social impact by addressing certain pressing concerns,” Remitio said.
For this year, DTI-Davao City is determined to reach other than in-school youth, who are members of the Davao City Association for Youth Development (DCAYD). This alliance, which was organized in October 2021, brings together various government line agencies, and representatives of the private sector, academe, non-government organizations, and youth groups.
By 2022, DTI-Davao City will start implementing activities for the out-of-school youth as well. This is in line with the vision and goals of the alliance: making them active participants of the city’s socio-economic development endeavors.
“Even in the middle of a pandemic, we have remained committed to implementing continuously the Youth Entrepreneurship Program (YEP) while we intend to involve more young people in entrepreneurship. We will do our best to deliver the needed assistance and tailor-fit these to augur their growth,” Remitio concluded. ♦
Date of Release: 22 February 2022