The Department
of Education (DepEd)
signed a Memorandum
of Agreement with non-profit organization Go Negosyo last November 27, 2023 to
promote entrepreneurship and agriculture entrepreneurship among the Filipino youth
through various programs and initiatives. Vice President and DepEd Secretary Sara
Duterte and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion signed the MOA during the
non-profit’s 18th anniversary celebrations in Makati City.
The programs outlined in the MOA aim to promote an entrepreneurial mindset among Filipino youth, build skills through mentorship, increase financial literacy, raise agricultural awareness, cultivate entrepreneurial skills in agriculture, and
facilitate industry connections for mentorship. The programs and
initiatives include the school garden project called “Pampaaralang
Taniman ng mga Agribida (PTA),” a public entrepreneurship mentoring event called “Youthpreneur”, and “Mentoring the Mentors,”
which will train teachers in teaching basic entrepreneurship concepts in the classroom.
The Vice President noted how an innovative mindset among the youth will be key to achieving a truly progressive nation, highlighting 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.
Vice President
Duterte also noted how
agriculture is one of the
strongest backbones of
wealth creation. “We want
to inspire a generation of
agricultural leaders,” she
said, outlining how, with
the help of private sector,
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 said.
“Public-private
partnership has had a lot
to do with the success of
Go Negosyo,” said Concepcion. Already, 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,” said Concepcion.
“And now with the support of the Department of
Education, we can institutionalize this training so
that it becomes part of the
school curriculum in primary education, enabling
us to reach more young
Filipinos and teach them
about entrepreneurship, or
at least open their minds
to it,” he said.
Last November
25, Go Negosyo held a
successful pilot event of
Youthpreneur, and attracted hundreds of Senior
High School students from
17 schools in the National
Capital Region. 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.
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
shall 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 DepEd.
The signing was
witnessed by the heads
of some of the country’s
top conglomerates and
business groups, as well
as veteran entrepreneurship mentors that form
Go Negosyo’s core pool
of mentors for its various
programs such as Kapatid Mentor MicroEntrepreneurs, Kapatid Agri Mentor
ME, and 3M on Wheels, as
well as its Kapatid Angat
Lahat sa Agri Program and
the ASEAN Mentorship for
Entrepreneurs Network.
