MTIT pilots youth entrepreneurship training for SGA college students in Malidegao

MALIDEGAO, Special Geographic Area — The Bangsamoro Ministry of Trade, Investments, and Tourism (MTIT) trained 31 local college students in business and personal initiative skills. The four-day Youth Entrepreneurship Program (YEP) was held at the Malidegao Extension Campus of the Cotabato Foundation College of Science and Technology (CFCST).

According to MTIT, the Malidegao training is the first implementation of the program in the Special Geographic Area (SGA). The SGA is made up of 63 barangays in Cotabato province that voted to join the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in the 2019 plebiscite. These barangays were organized into eight municipalities in 2024.

The workshop ran from Sept. 22 to 25 and was open to students who reside in the municipality. It covered Personal Initiative (PI) training and the Business Empowerment Simulation Training (BEST) game, and ended with a business pitch session.

MTIT Trade-Industry Development Specialist Mowafe Sarigan stressed the value of exposing young Bangsamoro learners to entrepreneurship early.

"Fostering an entrepreneurial mindset in students while they are young allows us to maximize their potential," Sarigan said. "It expands their knowledge of running a business and identifying the right target market whenever they decide to pursue an entrepreneurial career."

Sarigan said the Ministry will assist students who present the most viable business concepts. It will connect them with relevant regional agencies, funding institutions, and prospective investors.

"If we see high-potential concepts during their final pitch, we can refer them to the appropriate agencies to help bring those ideas to life," he said.

For participant Abdulrahim Saaban, a CFCST student, the training offered practical help to students facing academic and financial difficulties.

"This training is a huge help to us, especially here in the SGA. Many of our classmates are working students, while others come from families struggling to fund their education," Saaban said. He added that such circumstances push young people to find creative ways to support their studies.

"When our program head recommended us for this training, we were very grateful. It expanded our knowledge of business and gave us fresh ideas on how to refine our existing plans," he said.

On the final day, participants presented their proposed business concepts to a panel and received feedback for refining their business models.

MTIT said the program will next be rolled out in the SGA municipalities of Old Kaabakan and Kapalawan.