Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion has lauded Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual for his support to the country’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and his role in promoting public-private sector partnerships and investments that promise more jobs for Filipinos.
Concepcion said that Pascual clearly had the confidence of industry groups and conglomerates during the multiple consultations that were held as part of his role as the leader of the Jobs group of the Private Sector Advisory Council.
“The confidence is there that Sec. Pascual can lead the public-private partnership as we scale up our MSMEs, promote the country as open for business here and abroad, and address the need to upskill our workforce to create quality jobs,” Concepcion said.
Concepcion also noted Pascual’s active support of entrepreneurship, saying “MSMEs account for more than 62 percent of jobs in the country. Helping Filipino MSMEs is a task we can’t do alone. We have always been strengthened by our solid partnership with the DTI and its leadership."
In the first council meeting of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Council, Concepcion said Pascual, as its chairman, was able to engage and encourage every member to better participate and be more effective in resolving the issues at hand.
“The DTI was key to our Kapatid Mentor Micro Enterprises (KMME) Program,” he said.
The program, which is conducted by Go Negosyo alongside the DTI and its regional units, has been responsible for scaling up through formal mentorship of over 12,000 small and medium entrepreneurs all over the country.
“I can’t emphasize enough the importance of the mentors who give of their time and expertise to the KMME and our mentoring roadshow, 3M on Wheels, and Sec. Fred Pascual has been part of these mentorings in various capacities over the years,” said Concepcion.
This year, the 3M on Wheels has mentored almost 4,000 aspiring and active entrepreneurs through its free mentoring program, adding to the thousands more entrepreneurs who received free mentoring online through Go Negosyo’s Facebook Live show, Go Negoshow, during the course of the pandemic lockdowns.