MANILA, July 23, 2021—USAID Opportunity 2.0, in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry, recently trained over 80 DTI regional staff to strengthen entrepreneur preparation programs for the Philippines’ out-of-school youth.
The National Training of Trainers (TOT), conducted from July 6 until 23, follows an agreement signed between USAID Opportunity 2.0 and DTI back in May. This partnership integrates new entrepreneurship content into DTI’s Youth Entrepreneurship Program, further increasing the chances for young people to start and grow their own businesses.
“With the strength in our young demographics, the Filipino youth have a crucial role in building our country’s future as we move toward innovation. DTI’s partnership with USAID Opportunity 2.0 champions their entrepreneurial potential and empowers them to become active contributors to economic growth especially in the MSME sector,” said Jerry Clavesillas, Director of the DTI Bureau of Small and Medium Enterprise Development.
The new content entitled Be Your Own Boss (BYOB) contains topics that build youth’s core skills in business planning, start-up, and management including basic business and personal finance skills as well as helping them develop a mindset to become successful entrepreneurs.
In the coming months, BYOB will be integrated into the DTI Youth Entrepreneurship Program (DTI YEP) to serve out-of-school youth in 12 cities: Angeles City, Quezon City, Valenzuela City, Legazpi City, Cebu City, Tagbilaran City, Cagayan de Oro City, Cotabato City, Davao City, General Santos City, Isabela City, and Zamboanga City. Simultaneously, this will be scaled across the country to reach more aspiring young entrepreneurs.
USAID Opportunity 2.0 is a five-year, P1.9-billion ($37.5 million) collaborative program designed to support existing programs and mechanisms for Filipino out-of-school youth (OSY) that seek to improve their education, employment, and livelihood outcomes. The program is implemented by U.S.-based Education Development Center together with the Department of Education, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Accenture, Philippine Business for Education, Catholic Relief Services, Voluntary Services Overseas, and SEAMEO INNOTECH.
