Entrepreneurship training program for OFWs set

The Departments of Trade and Industry (DTI) and of Labor and Employment (DoLE) have teamed up to encourage repatriated overseas Filipino workers to become entrepreneurs.

The two agencies intend to do this by holding a series of seminars that are aimed at giving the OFWs the proper tools and know-how on doing business. The series of seminars was the brainchild of the DoLE, through the National Reintegration Center for OFWs.

The DTI’s Philippine Trade Training Center was tapped to formulate the training modules.

The free training sessions, which began this week and would end in September, covered relevant topics in entrepreneurship, including steps on how to start a business, the basics of the business cycle and market supply and demand, and tips on selling and preparing a business plan.

At the end of each session, participants will be asked to prepare a business plan. The best business plans will qualify to avail themselves of start-up loan packages from Land Bank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines.

Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo said making returning OFWs—particularly those who were affected by the unrest in the Middle East and Africa and those who would be hit by Saudization—more business-savvy would not only help them and their families but the country as well.

“Export-driven economies such as the Philippines would need to build the capacity of entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs to enhance our exporting activities and boost the local economy,” Domingo said.

The PTTC targets to reach about 2,000 OFWs with its seminars.

Last year, the government agency held similar sessions for around 300 OFWs, in partnership with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.

“By developing returning overseas workers into exporters and entrepreneurs, we will be creating a new stream of export revenues. With the Philippine exports roadmap in place, we are looking at more entrepreneurs and exporters breaking into the global market,” Trade Undersecretary Adrian Cristobal Jr. said.

Apart from this seminar series, the government is preparing other programs to reintegrate repatriated OFWs into the economy.

According to research from the Philippine Institute of Development Studies, the country has been, and continues to be, one of the world’s largest labor exporters and remittance receivers since the 1980s.

Last year, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data showed that OFW remittances reached $18.8 billion, from the about two million Filipinos working abroad, mostly in the Middle East.

The Asian Development Bank said that overseas remittances could help spur the country’s development through entrepreneurship. The government, however, needed to provide the right support mechanisms to ensure that these remittances would be used properly by the recipients here.

Encouraging OFWs and their families to go into business will help the country reach its goal of doubling exports to $120 billion by 2016, as stated in the latest Philippine Export Development Plan.

The country today has about 10,000 exporters, which can grow significantly with the entry of new entrepreneurs.