With the pandemic still causing a tremendous impact on education, training, and the economy, the USAID Opportunity 2.0 (O2) Program through the Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC) forged a partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to advance youth’s entrepreneurial potential through innovation and life skills by integrating the entrepreneurship initiatives of the O2 Program with the DTI’s Youth Entrepreneurship Program (YEP). Specifically, this cooperation provides two complementary avenues where Filipino youth will be able to access training processes and content that advance their self-employment path.
One of these avenues is Be Your Own Boss (BYOB), an entrepreneurship training that equips youth with foundational business skills and the entrepreneurial mindset needed to become smarter entrepreneurs, including creativity, critical thinking, perseverance, vision, and confidence. This is a practical, activity-based training which provides step-by-step business skills important for environmental scanning, identifying small business opportunities, and developing and operationalizing a business plan.
Thus, the DTI-Laguna Laguna Provincial Office, in collaboration with the Youth Development Affairs Office of Laguna, held the Be Your Own Boss Online Training from September 20 to 21, 2022, and the Be Your Own Boss Business Plan Presentation and Awarding Ceremony on September 23, 2022, at the Splash Mountain Resort in Los Baños, Laguna.
Fourteen (14) young aspiring and existing entrepreneurs actively participated in the two-day BYOB training. It covered seven topics: (1) The Business Concept, (2) Characteristics of a Successful Business Owner, (3) Business Ideas, (4) Customer Service, (5) Marketing, (6) Finance, and (7) The Business Plan, which were imparted by eight (8) BYOB facilitators: Ms. Lovely Anne Alcantara, Mr. Mark Vincent Arasa, Ms. Edelyn Aireen Muñoz, Ms. Jean Resurreccion, Mr. Nicols Consignado, Ms. Joemarie Valizado, Ms. Josephine Ballesteros, and Mr. Elmer Sagales.
The BYOB training provided an opportunity for the young participants to turn their business ideas into reality. They were able to learn the fundamentals of starting a business and develop their own business plan, which will serve as their guide in managing their venture.
The young entrepreneurs confidently and successfully presented their business plans to distinguished panelists, namely Dr. Marissa Dimarucot, an Assistant Professor IV from LSPU; Mr. John Lloyd Quiaonza, the Chief Operating Officer of Spoonful Delights Inc.; Ms. Marcelina Alcantara, a former DTI-Laguna Division Chief; and Mr. Arnel Magpily, a former DTI-Laguna Senior Trade and Industry Development Specialist.
In order to provide an initial investment for their businesses, the Provincial Government of Laguna, led by Governor Ramil L. Hernandez, through the Youth Development Affairs Office, and Congresswoman Ruth M. Hernandez, pledged a Php10,000.00 cash grant for each business plan presenter, as well as a Php5,000.00 cash prize for the Best Business Plan, which was won by Mr. Louise Richard Lijauco and Ms. Larrielane Sarreal of Pesticute Pest Control Services.
The BYOB Awarding Ceremony was attended by DTI-Laguna OIC Division Chief Ms. Maria Clara Conopio; YDAO Head Ms. Fatima Villaseñor; Mr. Richard Mariano, the representative of Cong. Ruth M. Hernandez; DTI-Laguna and YDAO team; AngatKa.PH personnel; and the BYOB panelists and graduates♦
Date of Release: 7 October 2022