As I have said in my previous column, a life lived with purpose gives us true happiness. Finding your life’s purpose might take a while, but when once you realize it, nothing will hold you back from fulfilling that goal.

For me, mentorship gives me purpose, which is why I have become a strong advocate of it. I have said this countless times and I will never fail to emphasize that mentorship is key in helping our micro, small and medium entrepreneurs find success in business.

As successful entrepreneurs and mentors, we must do our part in sharing our blessings with those underserved. This is why I am strongly committed to always help our brothers and sisters. As the ASEAN Business Council (ASEAN BAC) Philippines chairman, presidential adviser for entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder, I have seen the needs of the underserved sector of our society. Through Go Negosyo and our partnerships with several government institutions, as well as private corporations, we have identified the opportunities to help our fellow entrepreneurs and have developed programs that better cater to their needs.

The success stories from our programs are testament to the fact that we are helping MSMEs to scale up through mentorship. The Kapatid Mentor ME and Kapatid Agri Mentor ME Program have been launched across negosyo centers nationwide. Our recently introduced Mentor Me On Wheels has rolled out in Metro Manila and CALABARZON. And now I am very proud to introduce the new Mentor Me mobile app, the first of its kind in the Philippines, to our readers.

The Mentor Me mobile app is our latest effort to bring mentorship closer to every Filipino. Through the mobile app, we aim to connect mentors from large corporations with micro and small enterprise owners and share with them everything there is to know about running a business. I am personally optimistic about this as we are now connecting both mentees and mentors, providing them a direct line of communication wherein they can discuss and consult at their most convenient time, and from anywhere in the Philippines.

Just this week, we had beta tested the app together with our Go Negosyo mentors Mat Maderazo, Arlene Padua and Max Yap. We are all very excited to introduce this new service as it aims to be a game-changer in the industry. The Mentor Me mobile app will be officially launched on July 11 at DTI’s National MSME Summit.

Meanwhile, in another effort to bridge opportunities, the Meet ASEAN’s Talents and Champions (MATCH) Roadshow will be held on July 9-10. This is ASEAN BAC’s joint effort with the Monetary Authority of Singapore and SGV & Co. and was created so we can provide more avenues for our small and medium enterprises to be “matched” with potential investors from large companies across the ASEAN region. It is also supported by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc., Startup PH, Techtonic, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc., Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc., Cebu Innovation Council and Cebu IT BPM Organization.

Attending this roadshow, in my personal opinion, would be a great opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs because key players from the startup and digital communities will be on the lookout for new, exciting ideas. At this roadshow, small business owners have the opportunity to network and, find the right companies and partners to help them scale up their enterprises.

I hope everyone, especially local startups, will attend the MATCH Roadshow this July 9 and 10 at Dusit Thani Hotel, Makati, and Radisson Blu Hotel, Cebu City.

I commend the ASEAN business leaders and companies who are supporting the MATCH Roadshow, providing our startups with the knowledge and access to financial support. I also would like to express my gratitude to our web developers and Go Negosyo mentors for extending their full support and efforts for the development of the mobile application. All these efforts for truly noteworthy as they provide our small entrepreneurs the right avenues for capacity building.

We want everyone to achieve success through business, and we all want to see our brothers and sisters benefit from this inclusive economy. The upcoming MATCH Roadshow and Mentor Me mobile app are just some of the numerous initiatives that Go Negosyo has developed and support to help aspiring entrepreneurs, and we assure you of more opportunities to come in the future.