GE Money Bank Philippines and the Let’s Go Foundation announced last December 13, 2006, its agreement to jointly develop and lead a new initiative focused on women’s entrepreneur-ship. Called the Women Entrepreneurship Program, the program aims to raise awareness and inspire entrepreneurship in women at college level.

Prof. Jay Bernardo, Founder of the Let’s Go Foundation based in Manila said, “This is an extraordinary opportunity for young Filipinas today. Statistics indicate an increasing growth of women in small medium enterprise. Because they are growing, we want to improve the quality and thus increase the contribution of women enterprise in society. As our partner, GE Money Bank, with its deep expertise in financial education will play a critical role in the successful implementation of this program.”

Ben Kula, President & CEO of GE Money Bank Philippines said, “We are excited about this opportunity to work with Let’s Go to reach out to young Filipinas considering productive life beyond education. We are committed to helping transform job seekers into job creators through entrepreneurial education. Let’s Go identified an opportunity for us to bring an important education and community solution to an important issue in the Philippines.”

In the first phase of the program, GE Money Bank and the Let’s Go Foundation conducted a research on women entrepreneurship in the Philippines to better understand the dynamics of the issues. The results were presented to the media by Let’s Go Foundation’s Prof. Jay Bernardo last January 30, 2007, at the Asian Institute of Management. Present during the event were women entrepreneurs Chit Juan, CEO of Figaro Coffee, Annie Tanco, Managing Director of Bizu Patisserie, Sister Mary Gertrude, president of Assumption College who also represented the Consortium of Women colleges, and Tomoko Takazawa, Corporate Citizenship Leader of GE Money Asia. The presentation was moderated by multi-awarded broadcast journalist Cheche Lazaro.

A follow-up survey on students was also conducted last March, to determine what they need in school and how they can be inspired to pursue entrepreneurship. The results of the surveys were used as basis in the development of teaching tools, as well as for future planning of the program. These results will also be made available for teachers to develop their own entrepreneurship education curriculum for their schools and organizations. To assist and equip teachers, specific teaching materials have been developed and will be rolled out within the quarter for use at the college level. The materials will offer tools and methods for teachers to deliver more effectively the subject of entrepreneurship in their classes.

A Web site dedicated as a resource for women entrepreneurs is currently being completed and will contain news, events, research materials, links, and networking opportunities.

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