THE Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) seeks to empower more women entrepreneurs during its celebration of Mandaue Business Month (MBM) this year.
Now on its sixth year, the search for Winners (Women in Need, Now Entrepreneurs and Role Models) will gather its top 20 finalists in the last five seasons to come up with 100 participants overall.
“We’re going to call it Winners All-Star Season 6. It’s going to be a little different because we will have less of the pageant and more of education,” Alice Uy, Winners event chairperson, said in a press conference last week.
The MCCI recently kicked off its celebration of MBM 2016, with various activities lined up for the whole month of August including business seminars, investment forums, and trade expos.
The Winners search is one of the initiatives of the MCCI to empower micro and small-sized entrepreneurs as well as help them become an inspiration to their families and communities.
Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) account for 99.7 percent of the countries businesses.
Among the highlights of this year’s search are free business seminars meant to empower the participants, said Uy.
Uy said that on August 17, participants will undergo a series of trainings on pricing and costing, inventory management, food technology, skills, manufacturing technology, food safety, and packaging.
20 finalists
The top 20 finalists, who will be named on Aug. 24, will benefit from free cost accounting and bookkeeping seminars offered by the University of San Carlos.
Uy said that once they finish the module, they will become certified bookkeepers accredited by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda).
MCCI will also be offering free seminars on grassroots marketing and human resource management to cater to the business level of the finalists.
“We will also be getting a psychiatrist to teach them how to be a mother, a wife, and how to balance work and life,” said Uy.
Finalists will also get to showcase their businesses in an exhibit from Aug. 29 to 31, she added.
The finale night is slated on Aug. 31, said Uy, where Winners will be announced.