DTI, Go Negosyo strengthen MSME Development program

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Go Negosyo agreed to strengthen their collaboration to further develop the country’s MSMEs.

Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion, in a recent meeting, committed to align programs and initiatives geared toward MSME development.

The programs and initiatives include the KMME (Kapatid Mentor MicroEntrepreneurs), OTOP (One Town One Product) and other capability programs, as well as Go Negosyo’s popular free entrepreneurship mentoring roadshow, 3M on Wheels and its collaborative program with First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos’s LAB For All initiative.

“Go Negosyo is here to support the DTI in whatever way it can,” said Concepcion.

“Our aim has always been to give our MSMEs access to the three Ms needed by any entrepreneur to succeed: money, markets and mentoring,” he said.

For his part, Pascual said DTI would continue to support and collaborate with Go Negosyo especially as the non-profit organization prepares to expand its programs to the provinces.

During the meeting between DTI and Go Negosyo, both parties discussed the specific milestones of the KMME program, focusing specifically on how it continues to enable MSMEs in the country.

KMME is the longest-running program of Go Negosyo with the DTI. It was initiated in 2016 as an entrepreneurship mentoring program that seeks to facilitate the growth and development of small businesses in the Philippines by enhancing their business management competencies through coaching and mentoring. KMME now has almost 13,000 MSMEs that have completed the program, and almost a thousand certified mentors among its ranks.