Go Negosyo, in partnership with Embassy of the United States of America, launched the Youth Entrepreneurship Development Workshop recently to empower young entrepreneurs.

We are fortunate to have a partner who shares the same vision and willingness to help innovative young entrepreneurs in the Philippines.

YEDW is a developmental three-day workshop for existing young Filipino entrepreneurs and young aspiring entrepreneurs (with actual business ideas). We held the first leg in Makati, followed by Iloilo and soon in Zamboanga City and Batangas City.

The four initial workshops will include training, networking, and mentorship opportunities with Go Negosyo Angelpreneurs, as well as US exchange program alumni.

At the conclusion of each workshop, a panel of judges from the American and Filipino business communities will vote on the best plans to innovate and expand their businesses. One finalist from each city will receive a P30,000 grant with the exception of the grand prize winner, who will receive P100,000.

The top 10 participants from each workshop will also be invited to Manila to participate in a final workshop that will coincide with the 2015 APEC Ministerial meetings in November 2015.

During our Manila run, we had different innovative ideas on agriculture, technology and more. Our winner from the existing entrepreneurs is Flora Sanosa, who hails from Leyte and is managing FDIC Broilers, which distributes broiler chickens to their community. She joined the workshop to learn more about marketing and finance since the business is just nine months old.

Rachel Devilla, an aspiring entrepreneur from Quezon City, wants to integrate technology and agriculture through her website Cropital. Her concept links farmers to consumers via the Internet.

Recently we launched the YEDW program in Iloilo. Cezar Chan III, who won in the young entrepreneur category, is passionate about music, which is why he pursued having a business related to it. He is now the general manager of Alto Audio Design Center, which offers world-class audio services to its clients.

Mariel Obregon, the Iloilo winner in the business idea category, is from Samar. Her business idea transforms an agricultural waste product into a construction material. Her idea amazed many of the judges, who encouraged her start on the idea as soon as possible.

This is what we aim for in this program: to flesh out creative ideas from aspiring entrepreneurs and empower them to start their own businesses. As for the existing entrepreneurs, this workshop guided them on how to sustain their enterprise as they continue to move forward.

For more information on YEDW, visit www.gonegosyo.net/YEDW.