A brief on teenpreneurship in Manila

Dr. Cielito Habito recently wrote in his Philippine Daily Inquirer column on Sept. 24, 2013 the need to have an entrepreneur-oriented education, citing three important attributes:

•It drives students to be creators not mere replicators.

•It trains students for effective social interaction that he considers a key to success in business.

•It encourages students to discover, experiment and take risks.

There are a lot of Philippine colleges and universities that have taken this challenge and reconfigured their business schooling curricula toward providing their students with the challenge to become employers instead of merely aspiring to be employees.

For example, Ateneo de Manila University changed its Business Management curriculum at its Loyola campus almost a decade ago to accompany and replace courses like Business Policy into a course on Leadership and Strategic Thinking.

De La Salle University went further and established its presence in the Makati Central Business District at its RCBC Towers. Even the state and public colleges and universities recognized these needs and established their own entrepreneurship programs.

Nonetheless these veritable institutions still encouraged the debates on whether entrepreneurship concepts can be taught. There is this unending debate on whether entrepreneurship concepts can be taught with such topics as—are entrepreneurs born or bred?

In classical economics theory, this need has always been recognized. Capital had its return on investments, land had its rent, labor had its wages and profit happens to be the enclave of the entrepreneurs.

How soon should we teach our students the entrepreneurial skills? What is the earliest time?

Entrepreneurial skill is a discipline much like strategic thinking or spirituality and the earlier the habit is formed in an individual, the better it would be. There is a college in Quezon City that pushes the envelop with respect to inculcating entrepreneurial management skills to students.

The Entrepreneurial School of Asia is a boutique type of college that teaches students the rudimentary skills for entrepreneurship. One of its institutional projects is the Teenpreneur program. Here there is a tripartite multisectoral collaboration effort among ESA, its partner high schools and the small enterprises. There are two basic objectives and these are:

Objectives of the challenge:

1. To promote entrepreneurship among high school students by giving them opportunities to experience business from raising capital, innovating, to selling.

2. To involve high schools students in helping different micro-entrepreneurs from various underprivileged communities in Caloocan, Mandaluyong, Malabon and Quezon City.

By way of history, the Teenpreneur Challenges started last 2007 with two challenges on its maiden year and one annually thereafter with recently concluded TC2013 as the 8th challenge on its 7th year. The program has a 10-week to 14-week time frame with the following as the basic concepts:

1. (NEW this year) Participating high schools students will be raising funds for their seed capital for the Teenpreneur Challenge proper.

2. They will be choosing a partner product owner (micro-entreps chosen and trained for  two months by ESA). They were given Basic Business Management Training, Personality Development Training, Costing and Pricing Training and Bookkeeping Training.

3. Participating high school students shall be innovating the original products of their chosen product owners.

4. Product owners will be using the seed capital raised by the high school students to produce the INNOVATED products for the culminating bazaars.

5. The high school students will be selling the products that are now innovated in two selling activities: (a) Campus Teenpreneur Day: one-day bazaar in their own school and (b) Teenpreneur Expo: two-day bazaar in SM Megamall for two Sundays that will be held on Oct. 6 and 13.

The high schoolers were first initiated into selling regular products from which they would raise funds that they would use to innovate the products of their chosen small enterprise product owners. ESA college students will be tasked to help these high schoolers together with the college professors. This mentoring approach will be prevalent and continue even after they have chosen their small enterprise projects. There are lectures to allow the high schooler and the small enterprise owner insights into the basic business practices. Learning is encouraged among participants from the college teacher, to the students, to the high schoolers and the small enterprise owners. This interaction is necessary for learning to prosper, knowing that the learner constructed his own knowledge.

There were several awards given to the participants but there were mainly major awards and these were (1). Best in Sales and (2). Best in Product Innovation.

Proceeds of the bazaar

As part of helping the participating product owners from different underprivileged communities, the net profit of each school goes to their respective product owners.

Estimated figures

1. Total accumulated sales generated during the finals weekend (P2.1 million)

2. Total nanays/tatays/communities helped out (130 product owners)

3. Locations of these micro-entrepreneurs (Malabon City,  Caloocan City, Mandaluyong City and Quezon City, Virlanie Foundation (Makati), Correctional Institution for Women (Mandaluyong)

Product owners have seriously persevered to continue their micro-enterprises:

1. Teenpreneur Challenge has helped established a cooperative named Pamana Pag-asa Producers Cooperative. They now have two communities focused on sewing various products from bags, uniforms and other giveaways that are now directed to top gift shops and souvenir stores in Metro Manila such as EchoStore and Gifts & Graces. They are headed by Nanay Edith Arimado (Mandaluyong Chapter) from TC2008 and Nanay Cora Caay (Malabon Chapter) from TC2011.

2. Lourdes de Jesus from Malabon (Empanada) TC2008

3. Antonina Castañeda from Mandaluyong (Accessories) TC2009

4. Alma Telebrico from Malabon (Weaved bags) TC2009

5. Julie Samson from Malabon (Pastillas) TC2010

6. Jaime Espina from Quezon City (Lamps) TC2010

7. Edita Borja from Malabon (Cookies) TC2011

8. Ding Ayao from Mandaluyong (Bags) TC2011

9. Love Rafanan from Mandaluyong (Biko)

10. Ditas Hilario from Malabon (Empanada)

11. Chona Madolid from Caloocan (Peanut Butter)

12. Jenny del Rosario from Malabon (Polvoron)

13. Connie Garcia from Malabon (Slippers)

14. Saggie Mabinta from Malabon (Chocolate)

15. Cora Caay from Malabon (Bayong Bags)

16. Nedy Ausente from Mandaluyong (Instant Stain Remover)

17. Nila Juance from Malabon (Puto Seko)

18. Jenny Cruz from Caloocan (Bags)

Schools that have participated

1. Aquinas School

2. Ateneo de Manila High School

3. Colegio de Sta. Rosa

4. Colegio San Agustin

5. Colegio Sto. Domingo

6. Diliman Preparatory School

7. Elizabeth Seton School Imus

8. Elizabeth Seton School Las PInas

9. Falcon School

10. Immaculate Conception Academy

11. Infant Jesus Academy

12. Kostka School of Quezon City

13. La Salle College Antipolo

14. Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila School

15. Makati Hope Christian School

16. Miriam College High School

17. PAREF Northfield School

18. PAREF Southridge School

19. Philadelphia High School

20. Philippine Cultural College

21. St. Bridget School of Quezon City

22. St. Paul College Pasig

23. St. Scholastica Marikina

24. Tabernacle of Faith Christian Academy

25. Xavier School

This is a good case study to determine the extent to encourage students into developing their entrepreneurial skills. Also by providing a fun way of imparting the knowledge to these participants from the teachers, college students, high schoolers and the small enterprise owners, you encourage learning in the laboratory of the world.