Bayan Academy partners with British Council for its Strengthening Civil Society Participation in Social Enterprise Education and Development (CSO-SEED) program in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) region. In November of last year, Bayan Academy conducted a Social Enterprise Ideation Camp for start-up social enterprises. Eight social enterprises emerged as winners, with each receiving cash grants and one year worth of social enterprise mentoring.
The on-going mentorship started February of this year and will conclude by December. The eight Mindanao-based social enterprises, namely Bangsamoro WOW, Center for Integrated Organic Farming System, Bambuhay, Anaya Solutions, Halal Organic Agric-Crops Production, TaoTao Souvenirs, The Maranao Collectibles, and There is Hope in Daing, are being mentored by Bayan Academy Consultant Mr. Marvin Beduya and Bayan Academy Executive Director Mr. Philip Felipe. Bayan Academy Consultancy and Research Technologies Program Director replaced Mr. Felipe in the latter parts of the year in mentoring two of the social enterprises.Every quarter, the mentors travel to the social enterprise sites to conduct face to face mentoring sessions with the mentees. During these sessions, the mentors advise the winners on implementing their individual social enterprise development plants and monitor their progress. Development of the social enterprises is discussed and next tasks are identified. In between these sessions, mentorship continues through mini mentoring sessions via texts and calls. Individual quarterly documentation reports are submitted to British Council to share the progress of each social enterprise. Bayan Academy’s Social Enterprise Model Tapestry is the framework used in guiding the mentoring sessions.
Mr. Jandatu Salik of Center for Integrated Organic Farming System showing mentor Mr. Philip Felipe
the improved Center during the Q1 mentoring session
Mentor Mr. Marvin Beduya and mentees, social entrepreneurs behind The Maranao Collectibles
The mentors are bound to deliver third quarter mentoring sessions in the coming weeks.
Ms. Love Naces and Ms. Ghela Simon or TaoTao Souvenirs appreciated lessons learned from the boot camp and the mentoring sessions, “We came to British Council armed with only an idea and a few prototypes of this idea. As teachers without any business background, it was not easy for us to venture into social enterprise. Luckily for us, British Council, through workshops/trainings, taught us principles, strategies and values necessary to build an SE. It is a good thing that our mentor is only one Facebook message away and brick by brick, we were able to apply one lesson after another and within a few months, we were able to build a strong groundwork. Currently, we are learning financial management in order for us to launch this ideation into a full functioning social enterprise.”
Mr. Rashid Bangcolongan of Halal Organics shared his takeaways from the program, “The mentoring program of the Bayan Academy helps a lot in guiding our journey to attain our envisioned goals for the success of the social enterprise program of our organization, the KAPAMAGOGOPA Inc. It opened our horizon in identifying potential program and businesses that our IDPs could undertake while waiting for their return to the MAA.”