With the aim of turning the youth into formidable entrepreneurs in the future, Go Negosyo on Saturday kicked off its YOUTHPRENEUR program, attended by 17 schools from the National Capital Region and hundreds of senior high school students hungry for mentoring from veteran entrepreneurs and successful businessmen.
The YOUTHPRENEUR is Go Negosyo's first entrepreneurship mentoring event specifically designed for Filipino youths.
"At our public entrepreneurship events, I notice that we are getting more young attendees who are keen on starting their own business," said Joey Concepcion, founder of Go Negosyo during the program held at SM Fairview, Quezon City.
Also, Concepcion thanked the Department of Education for its backing of the endeavor, adding that they are currently exploring ways to institutionalize the training program to make it part of the school curriculum in primary education.
"With DepEd's help, we can reach more young Filipinos and teach them about entrepreneurship, or at least open their minds to it," he maintained.
Vice President and Department of Education Secretary Sara Duterte sent her message of support for YOUTHPRENEUR, saying that the event, "serves as a beacon of hope and opportunity for young Filipinos, igniting their passion for entrepreneurship and providing them with the tools and resources they need to transform their ideas into reality."
On the other hand, Angkas CEO George Royeca delivered an inspirational message to the students, emphasizing how time management is an important skill mastered by successful entrepreneurs.
Meanwhile, entrepreneur/content creators Kween Yasmin and Hiraya Filipina CEO Cleo Loque likewise shared their experiences as twentysomething businessmen.
Prior to the event, the senior high school students were asked to select a specific sector they were interested in pursuing for business.
They were then matched with veteran mentors to guide them through the process of starting a business, and what steps they should take in order to pursue their entrepreneurship dreams.
Concepcion underlined that the success of YOUTHPRENEUR will help its future programs aimed at growing the next generation of Filipino entrepreneurs.