Free mentorship for OFWs, seafarers aspiring entrepreneurs

Free mentorship for OFWs, seafarers aspiring entrepreneurs
Roderick Abad - December 12, 2019 https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/12/12/free-mentorship-for-ofws-seafar...

RETURNING overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and seafarers, together with potential entrepreneurs, stand to gain the “gift of knowledge” on how to put up a business during the special leg of the Mentor Me on Wheels (MMOW) at the Music Hall of SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City today, Thursday.

This mentorship program of GoNegosyo, together with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), recognizes the sacrifices of Filipino workers deployed abroad to uplift the economic status of their families and the country as a whole.

Based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, there were around 2.3 million OFWs from April to September 2018. Their estimated total remittance during the period reached P235.9 billion, up from P205.2 billion the prior year.

From more than a quarter of the 1.2 million seafarers in 2019, per The Economist, 378,000 are Filipinos. There are about 250,000 Filipino seafarers at sea in a day. Party-list group ACTS-OFW reported that the money they sent home account for 19 percent of the total OFW remittances, which was at $32.21 billion in 2018.

In this 34th edition of MMOW, they can avail themselves of a one-on-one free consultation sessions with around 100 distinguished entrep-mentors. Success stories of OFW-turned-entrepreneurs will also be featured in the event. They will also be introduced to various livelihood opportunities from key business players, including ride-hailing app providers Angkas and Grab.

Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and GoNegosyo Founder Joey Concepcion said that the government, through the DTI, GoNegosyo and the private sector, is committed to educate Filipinos on how to invest in any business and grow sustainably by reaching more markets for their products and services.

“The fulfillment we are getting by helping our MSME [micro, small and medium enterprises] is truly rewarding. This, I think is the best Christmas gift we can give to our OFW and seafarers for the sacrifices that they are doing,” he said.

MMOW started last year and since then has gathered around 1,000 mentors nationwide to cater to around 15,000 mentees. Along with the Mentor Me Online app, it aims to teach technical know-how and practical entrepreneurship strategies to micro and small entrepreneurs.

This special leg is supported by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Villar SIPAG Foundation, DTI, Parola Maritime Agency Corp, and Philippine Transmarine Carriers Inc.