by Caesar Vallejos, EBC Correspondent
The ASEAN Mentorship for Entrepreneurs Network (AMEN) was officially launched by President Rodrigo Duterte during the first day of the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (ABIS 2017) at the Solaire Manila, Philippines last November 12, 2017.
Under the Philippine Chairmanship through the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (BAC), AMEN is a public-private partnership platform which gives utmost importance to mentorship, a way of educating through focused guidance targetted to micro-, small-, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Acknowledging its role in economic development, President Rodrigo Duterte promised to review the budget for next year and provide more allocation to MSMEs. “Next year, I would like to make some late changes to the budget. I would like to pour more money into the micro-, small- and medium enterprises because we found out in our meetings that the basic unit of the economy has always been moved by the MSMEs” the President said.
The mentorship program will provide a platform for MSMEs among ASEAN countries to continually developed and actively share and promote their good practices which are expected to lead to inclusive growth among member countries of the regional bloc.
Delivering the keynote address was Myanmar State Counsellor and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs Aung San Suu Kyi.
Trust in the region
“ASEAN is all about relationships,” Joey A. Concepcion, ASEAN Business Advisory Council Chair 2017 said. “Trust is built. When there is trust, we can work together as one big region,” he emphasized.
Concepcion also mentioned inviting 250 delegates representing MSMEs at the ABIS 2017. “We want them to dream and be inspired. Our role is to help those who needed it most,” he said. He mentioned how he and the other noted businessmen were mentored by their parents and educated by the best schools. Unfortunately, this has been a liability for some which prompted ABAC to launch AMEN.
“It is a pooling of mentors from 10 countries,” Concepcion said. “The expertise of one country is needed by another country, eventually, nobody is left behind,” he explained. There will be 143 pioneer mentors for AMEN.
The AMEN launch is a major highlight of ABIS 2017, three-day conference that brings attention to the business, investment opportunities, issues, and directions in the ASEAN today.
It also highlights the multichannel connectivity, infrastructure development, entrepreneurial empowerment, disruptive innovation, policy directions in trade, issues that affect businesses which the council and its partners have been collectively resolving, and other trendsetting topics that have been the decisive and priority concerns of the leaders.
