Dr. Ivan Gil Balmadrid of Tandu Food Hub scored a perfect 50 points in his Business Improvement Plan presentation as he topped Bicol region’s graduates of the 2023 Kapatid Mentor Micro Entrepreneurs – Money Market Encounter (KMME-MME) Online Program Batch 2 that was completed last week.
At second place is Lynn Marjorie Camson of Seaglass Sonata Arts & Crafts, who had 49.75 points in a tie with Judith Dollison of Writeshop Enterprises in Sorsogon.
Also finishing the 10-module business mentoring course that began Oct. are Renato Chong of Burabod Free-Range Chicken Farm, Kimverly Abato of KFA Chicken By-Products Trading, Arlene Cabrera of Jaz Handicraft, Ryan Agunday of Y&C Paint Center, Archie Arcilla of Tambak Mushroom Farm, and Vic Vargas of Bakies Café.
Several have already availed of low-interest loans extended to small businesses during the pandemic by the Small Business Corporation (SB Corp.) which is partly financing the mentoring program this year.
During the course, mentors coached the entrepreneurs on the following modules: entrepreneurial mindsetting, marketing mind-set, business model canvas, operations management, digitalization, supply and value chain, good governance & ethics, market expansion and internationalization, product development, HR/organization management, and enterprise accounting/financial management.
Coaches also supervised the drafting and finalization of the BIP drafting, finalization and presentation, as well as the culmination and product exposition.
The KMME-MME program has been implemented in the country since 2016 by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship (PCE) Go Negosyo.
In his message, Go Negosyo chairman Joey Concepcion reminded the graduates that mentoring does not stop with the graduation.
He urged them to continue to be in touch with their mentors and attend mentoring events in malls such as summits on digitalization and retail marketing as they will encounter challenges.
“Being KMME graduates does not assure you of success,” he advised. “You may fail but don’t be discouraged by failure.”