Eight local entrepreneurs, six of them women, started online business mentoring classes last week As the first batch of the 2025 Kapatid Mentor Micro-Entrepreneurship (KMME)-Money Market Encounter (MME) program.
The mentees are Lito D. Santelices, owner of ANZ Agricultural Products Trading, Calatagan Tibang, Virac; Salve T. Tarnate of Pandayan ni Ben in Guinobatan, Bato; Sarah Lyn F. Gianan of Cubiertos by SG Food Hub in Sta. Cruz, Virac; Jane Aubrey M. Andes of Bake Me Up Pastries Shop in San Pablo, Virac; Winjie Tapel of Come and Bite Pizza Hub in Calatagan Proper, Virac; Elaine Grace C. Nomel of Lemon’s Cake & Pastries in Calatagan Proper, Virac; Shiarie D. Ferrer of Sean’s Food Stall in Napo, Pandan; and Erwin T. Bautista of EJ-KC Furniture Shop in Batolinao, Baras.
They were among 48 mentees from the Bicol region who participated in the March 20, 2026 simultaneous online launching of the program sponsored by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Philippine Council for Entrepreneurship (PCE).
DTI Catanduanes Provincial Director Maria Belma Q. Escueta and her team joined the young entrepreneurs from Catanduanes in their face-to-face launch at ARDCI Skydeck.
Calling the launching the start of a valuable journey towards entrepreneurial growth and resilience. DTI Assistant Regional Director Joseph DL. Ranola advised the mentees to equip themselves with the right mindset and skills with the guidance of business experts.
“Your active engagement will determine how much you will learn from the program,” he stressed.
Undersecretary Blesila Lantayona said the KMME is the gateway to opportunities, government support, private partnerships and financing options.
“Your success will not be yours alone but also of the KMME-MME program,” the official stated, sharing that DTI Secretary Cristina Roque herself started small in business, turning a P6,000 investment into a thriving enterprise before she entered government.
On the other hand, PCE Go Negosyo senior adviser Engr. Merly Cruz told the participants that they have succeeded in first hurdle – qualifying for the program – and that once they graduate, they will be joining a potent network of microentrepreneurs, small business owners and mentors
During the introduction part of the program, the mentees were one in thanking the government for the chance of learning more about running a business.
One of them, Winjie Tapel, who started an online pizza and pasta delivery gig, was in tears as she recalled the struggles and challenges she faced.
She said came to the realization that business is not all sales and that the KMME-MME program answered her prayers.
Catanduanes State University entrepreneurship graduate Jane Aubrey Andes, 23, said she started making premium cakes online since she was 19 and wants to open a physical store.
On the other hand, accountant-turned-chef Sarah Lyn Gianan disclosed that her passion for cooking led her to engage in the food and beverage business but admitted that she needs to learn many aspects in running a restaurant.
Government pharmacist Elaine Grace Nomel, who bakes the cakes at Lemon’s herself, confessed that passion is not enough and one needs to know the techniques of business to succeed.
Two of the mentees – Salve Tarnate and Erwin Bautista – took over businesses started by their respective fathers.
“The pandayan started by my father Benjamin enabled us to all finish our education,” Tarnate said, adding that she wants to build on his legacy of making bolos by improving and expanding on it.
For his part, Bautista said the furniture shop has been a family business for years and he began managing it when his father passed away in 2023.
Pandan’s Shiarie Ferrer is keen on further expanding her five-year-old food business which she started just outside her home.
She now operates three food carts and two stores in the town and in nearby Caramoran.
Lito Santelices, on the other hand, distributes eggs, fruits and vegetables to clients throughout Catanduanes.