Koronadal City, South Cotabato – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) – Region 12 has officially launched its first batch of the Kapatid Mentor ME – Money Market Encounter (KMME-MME) for 2022 with 48 enrolled entrepreneurs.

The KMME-MME Program is an initiative of the DTI and the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship (PCE) that aims to equip Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) scale up their businesses through lecture, coaching, and mentoring sessions with successful business owners and practitioners on various fields of entrepreneurship.

Since the start of COVID-19 pandemic, the KMME has shifted to virtual platform to continue the mentoring program without compromising the health and safety of participants.

The mentee-entrepreneurs coming from different provinces of Region 12 are into the business of processing and value-adding products considered under the priority industry clusters of the said region. Moreover, aside from the ten module-course, they will be required to submit a Business Improvement Plan (BIP) to finish the entire program.

In his welcome message, Regional Director Jude Constantine S. Jaugan, the Regional Director of DTI-Region 12, expressed his unending support to the mentees despite the threats posed by the pandemic.

“The KMME-MME is only one avenue to kickstart our support to you, our mentees. DTI has other programs and services that will help your businesses grow and compete,” said RD Jaugan.

DTI’s Undersecretary Blesila A. Lantayona and PCE’s Engr. Merly M. Cruz were also present to show support to the new batch of mentee-entrepreneurs. Both have encouraged the participants to finish this course and apply their knowledge to improve their businesses.

Now in its sixth year of implementation, the program has produced more than 400 mentee-graduates with some having used their Business Improvement Plans (BIP) to expand their business ventures. ♦

Date of Release: 2 May 2022