To boost entrepreneurship and agriculture entrepreneurship skills among the Filipino youth, the Department of Education (DepEd) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the non-profit organization (NGO) Go Negosyo.
The MoA signing, held on Nov. 27, was led by Vice President and DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion. They signed the MOA during the NGO’s 18th anniversary celebrations in Makati City.
As outlined in the MOA, the programs aimed to promote an entrepreneurial mindset among Filipino youth, build skills through mentorship, and increase financial literacy.
Through various programs and projects, DepEd and Go Negosyo aimed to raise agricultural awareness, cultivate entrepreneurial skills in agriculture, and facilitate industry connections for mentorship.
Among the programs and initiatives include the school garden project called “Pampaaralang Taniman ng mga Agribida (PTA)” which is a public entrepreneurship mentoring event called “Youthpreneur.”
The “Mentoring the Mentors,” on the other hand, was designed to train teachers in teaching basic entrepreneurship concepts in the classroom.
Key to a progressive nation
Duterte highlighted how an innovative mindset among the youth will be key to achieving a “truly progressive nation.”
She also highlighted how the MOA strengthens the DepEd’s MATATAG agenda and how it enables the youth to identify opportunities for creating wealth and respond to social and economic changes.
Moreover, Duterte also underscored how agriculture is one of the “strongest backbones” of wealth creation.
“We want to inspire a generation of agricultural leaders,” she said.
With the help of the private sector, Duterte explained how high school students can be introduced to basic agriculture concepts, school gardens can be established and make possible the cultivation of cash crops using school sites.
“School gardens provide a platform for communities to come together, work toward a shared goal and promote healthy eating habits.” she added.
Public-private partnership
Meanwhile, Concepcion underscored the importance of public-private partnership especially with the success of Go Negosyo.
To date, the organization has organized the country’s biggest agriculture companies under its KALAP (Kapatid Angat Lahat sa Agri Program) initiative to harness the private sector to scale up the country’s agriculture sector.
Concepcion also noted how young Filipinos are becoming interested in entrepreneurship. “At our public entrepreneurship events, we are getting more young attendees who are keen on starting their own business,” he said.
With the support of the DepEd, Concepcion said Go Negosyo can now institutionalize this training so that it becomes part of the school curriculum in primary education This, he added, will enable “us to reach more young Filipinos and teach them about entrepreneurship, or at least open their minds to it.”
Following the signing, a technical working group comprising members of both DepEd and Go Negosyo will be created to oversee, implement, and fulfill the objectives of the MOA.
DepEd is expected to provide policy guidance, data, and evaluation of program implementation while Go Negosyo will be responsible for providing mentors, securing support and resources, and leading in its implementation in coordination with the education department.
The MoA signing was witnessed by the heads of some of the country’s top conglomerates and business groups.
Also present were veteran entrepreneurship mentors, forming Go Negosyo’s core pool. They contribute to various programs such as Kapatid Mentor MicroEntrepreneurs, Kapatid Agri Mentor ME, 3M on Wheels, Kapatid Angat Lahat sa Agri Program, and the ASEAN Mentorship for Entrepreneurs Network.
On Nov. 25, Go Negosyo held a successful pilot event of Youthpreneur which attracted hundreds of Senior High School students from 17 schools in Metro Manila.
Concepcion said that the success of the pilot event of Youthpreneur bodes well for its future programs aimed at growing the next generation of Filipino entrepreneurs.