Junior Chamber International (JCI) Philippines, formerly known as the Philippine Jaycees, Inc., has moved to broaden the horizons and bring more opportunities to young Filipinos who possess the entrepreneurial spirit.

Led by its 2021 national president, Jude Avorque Acidre, JCI will sign on Wednesday, March 10 a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with StartUp Village (SUV) to assist entrepreneurs and startups, particularly those that are part of the JCI network through the Startup Academy.

The program is just one of the many planned by JCI under its newest national initiative, Forty Under 40--a series of master classes on different disciplines to be offered to JCI members.

Through the JCI-SUV partnership, Forty Under 40’s Startup Academy will be the first among JCI’s entrepreneurial skills development initiatives that is open to all JCI members.

At its core, it is an entrepreneurship development program aimed at training young JCI member-entrepreneurs so they may become full-fledged and socially responsible entrepreneurs.

“The crisis brought about by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has become a providential period of catharsis, of transformation, as we prepare ourselves for the greater challenges ahead. Now more than ever, young leaders need to better ourselves and improve our capacity to create and sustain innovative solutions to everyday community problems.” said Acidre the second nominee of Tingog Party-List and chief of staff of Rep. Yedda Marie K. Romualdez, the group’s first nominee.

"Startups" refer to new or fledgling businesses.

The vast majority of the business in the Philippines are categorized as micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs)--a sector that has been negatively impacted by the ongoing health crisis.

The program, which will start on April 10, will be delivered through a combination of virtual classes and group/individual mentoring by industry experts and resource persons from the academe.

As a culminating activity, the participants are expected to do a pitch before a group of potential funders and angel investors during the Philippine Startup Week in November for a chance to turn their dream startup into a reality.

“Following the thrust of JCI globally, we hope to provide engaging opportunities for young, business-minded JCI leaders for a changing world.” according to Tertiana Alexie Tupas, an Asian Institute of Management alumna and JCI Philippines’ 2021 National Program Director for Forty under 40.

The program will adopt SUV’s existing incubation program, further customized to address the emerging needs of entrepreneurs while still following its core framework that follows the three masteries: Mastery of the Self, Mastery of the Environment and Mastery of the Enterprise.

JCI Philippines is a nonprofit organization with local chapters all over the country composed of young active citizens aged 18 to 40 years old who take the initiative to solve local challenges focused on sustainable impact locally and globally.

On the other hand, SUV is a one-stop startup enabler that focuses on bringing entrepreneurial ventures into the mainstream for incubation and acceleration.

It is headed by its co-founders, Jay Bernardo and Carlo Calimon.