At least 10,000 women retailers eyed for entrepreneurship training

20 February 2015

Sari-sari store and karinderya (eatery) owners may have already grasped the practical day-to-day operation of their business, but a little more training will certainly help.
 
Moving forward its Sari-Sari Store Training and Access to Resources (STAR) program, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and Coca-Cola Far East Limited aimed to have 10,000 more women scholars for the first semester of the year.
 
The target beneficiaries are to be trained in Metro Manila, Rizal, Bulacan and Cavite.  Out of these 10,000 women, 500 will come from the 6th District of Quezon City.
 
To formalize the partnership, TESDA, Coca-Cola and the 6th District of Quezon City inked a Memorandum of Agreement for the intervention for small sari-sari store owners, focused mainly on providing formal Basic Entrepreneurship training and facilitation of access to business resources such as product and merchandising support.
 
"Women entrepreneurs continue to rise in the economy as a force to be reckoned, and lasting success hinges on the ongoing training to equip them with the skills in better running their business," TESDA Secretary General Joel Villanueva said.
 
He expressed gratitude to Coca-Cola and the local government of Quezon City for their concerted and focused effort around entrepreneurship education.
 
The STAR program was designed to economically empower the target women beneficiaries by providing them with the necessary knowledge, skills and attitude to transform them to become successful entrepreneurs.
 
Since the program started in 2012 up to December 2014, about 30,000 women scholars have graduated.
 
In implementing it, TESDA and Coca-Cola have been forging partnerships with local government units that select the women beneficiaries.
 
TESDA nominates qualified trainers for the program based on qualifications outlined on the mechanics for implementation.
 
The STAR program is under the Coca-Cola Company’s 5by20 Program, a global initiative to empower five million women worldwide by the year 2020.
 
The Memorandum of Agreement was signed by Villanueva for TESDA, Coca-Cola vice president for public affairs and communications Adel Tamano, and Quezon City Representative Kit Belmonte of the 6th district.