DICT-CAR Ifugao and DTI-Ifugao held a free online learning session on March 10, 2026 via Zoom, drawing 151 participants — aspiring and existing entrepreneurs from Ifugao who joined to strengthen their business foundations. The session, titled "From Idea to Action: Developing the Entrepreneurial Mindset," was held in celebration of National Women's Month, with priority registration given to women participants.

The timing was deliberate. March is National Women's Month, and Ifugao — like much of rural Cordillera — has a significant base of women-led microenterprises and community-based businesses that rarely get access to the kind of structured entrepreneurship training that urban centers take for granted.

What the Session Covered

Ms. Eleanor H. Basilio-Saludares served as resource person, guiding participants through the practical and mental dimensions of building a venture — from spotting opportunities in everyday problems, to developing the confidence, resilience, and discipline that separate an idea from an actual business. The session was framed around a question that most entrepreneurship programs skip: before the business plan and the funding, do you have the mindset to see it through?

That framing matters more in a province like Ifugao than it might elsewhere. Many participants are working with limited capital, limited market access, and limited exposure to formal business development support. What they often have in abundance is resourcefulness and a deep understanding of local needs. A session focused on mindset — on how to think like an entrepreneur before acting like one — meets them where they are.

Why This Format Works

151 participants for a free Zoom session in a province like Ifugao is not a small number. It reflects both the demand for accessible entrepreneurship support and the effectiveness of a simple delivery model: no travel, no registration fee, no formal qualification required. DICT and DTI didn't wait for participants to come to a training center. They brought the session to wherever participants had a phone or a laptop.

For government agencies in the region, this is a replicable model worth noting. A well-promoted free online session with a relevant topic and a credible resource person can reach more people in a single morning than a two-day in-person workshop reaching a fraction of the audience. The infrastructure for this kind of delivery already exists. The question is whether agencies will use it consistently and not just during awareness months.

What This Means for the Region

Ifugao's entrepreneurs — the majority of them women running agriculture-based, food processing, and community livelihood ventures — are among the least served by the formal innovation and startup ecosystem in Cordillera. DICT-CAR and DTI-Ifugao running this session during Women's Month is a meaningful signal that the agencies are paying attention to that gap. The more important signal will be what comes after: whether participants get follow-up support, whether the most promising ideas get routed to the right programs, and whether this becomes a recurring touchpoint rather than a one-time event.

Entrepreneurs in Ifugao looking for follow-up support can reach out to DTI-Ifugao or DICT-CAR directly. For other provinces in Cordillera, the session format used here — free, online, targeted, and tied to a clear community need — is a straightforward model worth replicating.

Source: DICT-CAR