After almost three months of training, 20 entrepreneurs graduated from the mentoring sessions, dubbed the “KAPATID Mentor ME” (KMME) program, in Quezon on 20 June 2017 at the St. Jude COOP Hotel and Event Center, Tayabas City.

“This is the best time to be an entrepreneur in our country because we have so many programs available anytime for everyone, and the good news is that these programs are for free,” said Bureau of Small and Medium Enterprise Development Director Jerry Clavesillas.

KMME is an initiative of the Department of Trade and Industry and the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship (PCE) to help the country’s micro and small enterprises, bringing experts and industry leaders who will provide a series of free mentoring sessions on aspects of entrepreneurship.

The first batch of Quezon Kapatid Mentor Me graduates at the St. Jude COOP Hotel and Event Center, Tayabas City last 20 June 2017.

“The things a mentee will learn from the program cannot be found in books because these are experiences that are very practical and enviable from consultants, executives, and owners of corporations,” said PCE Angelpreneur Victor Madlangbayan.

20 Quezon mentees completed the 12 modules on product development, operations management, accounting, taxation, finance, obligations and contracts, human resource management, supply and value chain, succession planning, and business plan development.

DTI Quezon Officer-in-Charge Julieta Tadiosa said that the materials or content were simplified for effective digestion and actual examples relatable to the mentees.

Before graduation, each mentee presented his/her Business Improvement Plan (BIP) to the panelists. The mentees were graded based on the effectiveness of their presentation such as the organization, flow, time, and effectiveness to response to audience questions and comments, including their application of learning from the modules such as market opportunity, competitive advantage, management capability, financial understanding, and innovation.

“We encourage each mentee to take the BIP Presentation seriously because we will closely monitor the improvement of your company to know if you apply the things you mentioned during your demonstration,” said Department of Trade and Industry CALABARZON Director Marilou Toledo.

“We are very thankful to DTI for this wonderful opportunity of letting us experience this important program. We have learned many things, and we will surely apply them to improve our business. It was truly an unforgettable experience,” said Chona Bandola, owner of Charn’s Food Products.