One hundred five Cordillerans have graduated from the Youth Entrepreneurship Program (YEP) of the Department of Trade and Industry.
Fifteen young entrepreneurs each from Baguio City and the six provinces of the Cordillera had their graduation in a mix of face-to-face and virtual ceremonies on Dec. 4.
Fifteen of the graduates also had the opportunity to enter a business pitch competition that was joined online by DTI partner investors and funding institutions.
DTI-Cordillera Director Myrna Pablo, in her message during the pitch competition and graduation ceremony, said the YEP is a nationwide program that aims to help young Filipinos develop their entrepreneurial skills through a comprehensive package of interventions.
“It supports the government’s growth agenda of doubling the number of the entrepreneurs in the country by 2022, which will in turn broaden the gains of economic development, address inequality, and uplift the quality of life of Filipinos particularly the youth,” Pablo said.
DTI-Cordillera Asst. Director Juliet Lucas said that for the youth entrepreneurship program and pitching competition, the regional YEP participants took in four modules namely Business Model Canvass, Business Continuity Planning, Website and Video Marketing, and Business Pitching Workshop to provide experience and engage the youth participants on the world of entrepreneurship.
The pitching competition aims to help the participants expand or to capacitate youth entrepreneurs in forging strategic partnerships that will make their business expand and connect them with industry leaders and investors that will help them stretch the boundaries of the business, Lucas added.
The 105 youth entrepreneurs will be mainstreamed to the DTI regular programs as part of the strategy of ensuring the sustainability of their business operations. – Carlito C. Dar
