Tesda offers biz training to 10,000 women

Aiming to empower 200,000 women in the country by 2020, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) is offering free business training to sari-sari (retail) stores and eatery owners in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

“Women entrepreneurs continue to be… a force to be reckoned [with] and [their] lasting success hinges on… [equipping] them with the skills [to run] their businesses [better],” Tesda Director General Joel Villanueva said in a recent statement.

He added that Tesda and Coca Cola Far East Ltd. were targeting 10,000 scholars from Metro Manila and the provinces of Rizal, Bulacan and Cavite under the Sari-Sari Store Training and Access to Resources (Star) program for the first semester.

Of the 10,000 scholars, 500 will come from Quezon City’s sixth district which covers Barangays Apolonio Samson, Baesa, Balon-Bato, Culiat, New Era, Pasong Tamo, Sangandaan, Sauyo, Talipapa, Tandang Sora and Unang Sigaw.

He said that the agency was targeting 15,000 women from Metro Manila to take part in the Star program.

The program aims to empower 200,000 women involved mostly in traditional retail and eatery business operations in the Philippines by 2020 by giving them formal basic entrepreneurship training and  access to business resources.

It is part of Coca Cola’s “5by20” initiative of economically empowering five million women worldwide by providing them with the necessary knowledge, skills and attitude to transform them into successful traders.

From 2012 to December last year, the Tesda program has produced nearly 30,000 women entrepreneurs nationwide.