By Leilanie Adriano
In LAOAG CITY, company owners advised senior high school students attending a mentoring session on Wednesday to prepare themselves for any challenge and embrace the possibility of failure, emphasizing that resilience is key to success in business.
The event, organized by Go Negosyo in collaboration with the Department of Education (DepEd), marked the first-ever youth entrepreneurship initiative, drawing approximately 200 students from San Nicolas National High School (SNHS) to the school’s covered court.
Young entrepreneur Anna Magalona-Goo, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of But First, Coffee PH, said she started her business with a PHP6,000 capital and now has 15 branches nationwide.
She used to be a credit and finance solutions manager in a software company in Makati, but when coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) hit, it made her realize she needed a backup plan in case something happens.
James Amparo, founder and CEO of We Will Rice Farmers Inc., told the students that the agriculture industry holds a lot of promise, but pointed out that in the Philippines, the farmers need a convergence of efforts to spot the solution to any problem in the value chain.
During the open forum, a student asked Amparo what challenges he faced in his business and he replied: “You have to spot the problem.”
“As an entrepreneur, you need to be a problem solver. Once you solve the problem, profit will follow,” he said.
Aside from developing a fertilizer to help cut cost in agricultural inputs, Amparo is also assisting the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) on how to improve the irrigation system through a technology he developed.
With these lessons, 16-year-old Justine Dela Cruz said it is inspiring to know that some successful young entrepreneurs are going the extra mile to share their passion for business and teach younger generations how to become achievers also.
“I’m thankful and inspired by the stories shared by the resource speakers. It is so exciting to hear from them,” she said in an interview.
The event is aimed to help the students how to become enterprising, and think like an entrepreneur.
“Thank you for bringing the concept, the idea, the experience, the inspiration, and probably the technology of entrepreneurship to the young children and the young learners. This is part of rebranding education –an education for life, something that it is worth to be inherited,” Schools Division Superintendent Donato Balderas Jr. said during the opening program.
As the center of commerce and industry in the province, San Nicolas town mayor Angel Miguel Hernando said his town is “very fortunate” to host the event.
“This is relevant and adds to the sustainability of (the) business climate in our town,” he said.
Before the pandemic, San Nicolas earned its Hall of Fame award from the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry as the country’s most business-friendly municipality under the municipal category level 1. (PNA)
