More beneficiaries from DTI mentorship programs eyed

FILE: Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez  (Photo by Albert Alcain/PPD/PNA)

MANILA — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) aims to reach more Filipinos this year with its training programs to promote entrepreneurship.

DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez said Monday the department will continue to strengthen its mentorship initiatives this 2018 by conducting more trainings and tapping more mentors to coach micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and those who would like to start their own businesses.

Lopez added that in 2017, DTI has conducted 121 Kapatid Mentor ME with a total of 28,202 attendees.

Of the total attendees, some 2,663 have graduated from Kapatid Mentor ME sessions.

Some 3,983 trainings were also rolled out under its SME Roving Academy (SMERA) with 138,942 participants.

For 2018, DTI Undersecretary for Regional Operations Group Zenaida Maglaya said the department targets to increase those graduating from Kapatid Mentor ME sessions to 20 percent of total attendees last year or to more than 5,000 mentees.

She added that there are now about 460 mentors under the Kapatid Mentor ME program of DTI.

Under the Kapatid Mentor ME, large enterprises provide mentorship seminars to MSMEs.

Maglaya also said DTI targets to double the participants of SMERA this year to around 300,000.

“As we bring our services throughout the country, and they get to know more of our services, the demand [for our services] has increased. We make sure that we address their demands and deliver,” Maglaya said.