(From left) Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges President Tirso Ronquillo, Department of Trade and Industry Assistant Secretary Leonila Baluyut, Department of Science and Technology Assistant Secretary Napoleon Juanillo, Second Congressional Education Commission Executive Director Karol Mark Yee, University of Santo Tomas Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Cheryl Peralta, USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator for East Asia and the Pacific Sara Borodin, USAID Philippines Mission Director Ryan Washburn, Commission on Higher Education Executive Director Cinderella Benitez-Jaro, Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines Director General Rowel Barba, and UPSKILL Chief of Party Richard Abendan.

Manila, February 21, 2024—On February 20, the United States government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), launched the U.S.-Philippines Partnership for Skills, Innovation, and Lifelong Learning (UPSKILL) Program, a five-year, Php1.6-billion ($30 million) initiative that will help Philippine higher education become more globally competitive by strengthening innovation, workforce development, and entrepreneurship in colleges and universities.

U.S. President Joseph Biden and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. jointly announced this initiative during President Marcos’s visit to the White House in May 2023.

USAID’s UPSKILL Program will bring together U.S. universities, Philippine government agencies engaged in human capital development, and private sector partners to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education institutions through faculty and staff training, curriculum improvements, and increasing community outreach and technology transfer. These efforts will improve the qualifications and career prospects of Filipino higher education graduates to continuously meet evolving workforce needs and enhance linkages between U.S. and Philippine universities.

The UPSKILL Program is implemented by RTI International through a consortium of U.S. universities, which includes Arizona State University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, and Philippine partners such as Edukasyon.ph and the Philippine Business for Education.

“The challenges and opportunities that young people face today in the workplace make college training and education critical for their future success,” visiting USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator for East Asia and the Pacific Sara Borodin said during the UPSKILL Program launch at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. “Through this new USAID program, the United States government reaffirms its commitment to working with our Filipino partners in transforming the higher education sector.”

Officials from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the Second Congressional Education Commission, the Department of Science and Technology, the Department of Trade and Industry, the National Economic and Development Authority, and the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines, as well as representatives from several Philippine universities attended the program launch.

“With this partnership with USAID, the Commission on Higher Education will provide unique opportunities for our colleges and universities to continuously innovate in response to the aspirations of the Philippines, and specifically that of our students,” CHED Executive Director Cinderella Filipina Benitez-Jaro said. “Together, we will demonstrate the compelling value of internationally recognized training, cooperative research, and lifelong learning modalities being offered by Philippine higher education.”

Manila, November 15, 2023—Since 2020, 350 Filipino women from all over the Philippines have received training and mentorship from the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE), a U.S.-supported business learning program organized by the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines and implementing partner SPARK! Philippines.

“All of us know how much women business owners—both in the informal and formal sectors—contribute to and drive economic prosperity in the Philippines,” U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson said in her remarks at the first-ever AWE Philippines Summit on November 9 to mark the business training program’s third anniversary. “With AWE, we have prioritized reaching women entrepreneurs who face the highest hurdles when it comes to accessing the essential tools of entrepreneurship: finance, support networks, mentors.”

The inaugural summit in Manila gathered more than 80 AWE alumni from Bacolod, Bohol, Cebu, Manila, Marawi, Puerto Princesa, Quezon City, and Zamboanga del Sur to participate in panel sessions, networking activities, and workshops by American business experts.  Another 40 AWE graduates gathered in Bacolod City on November 11 for a one-day networking and workshop session with summit organizers.

Department of Trade and Industry Undersecretary Blesila Lantayona also attended the summit in Manila.

“Even before the pandemic, we, at the Department of Trade and Industry, follow closely the Magna Carta of Women or Republic Act 9710 passed in 2009, which provides specific interventions of DTI to promote women’s economic empowerment.  With these and other initiatives, I am confident that our women entrepreneurs can rebuild better and contribute greatly to the country’s economic recovery,” DTI Undersecretary Lantayona said.

“Whether they are aspiring entrepreneurs with innovative concepts or micro and small business owners seeking fresh perspectives, this summit serves as a gateway to innovation, business growth, and unparalleled networking opportunities.  It is a dynamic learning experience where our women entrepreneurs unite to embark on a path to entrepreneurial excellence,” SPARK! Philippines Executive Director Maica Teves said.

AWE is a hybrid learning program that offers courses on market research, laws and regulations, business plan creation, cash flow projection, and digital marketing for Filipino women entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds, including survivors of violence, illegal trafficking, and natural disasters, as well as innovators in sustainable development, technology, and agriculture.  Graduates also benefit from a network of more than 25,000 women entrepreneurs across 100 countries.

In March, Filipino entrepreneur Senith Araez received the AWE Outstanding Achievement Award for her exemplary leadership and contributions to women’s empowerment in her community at the first regional AWE Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  Araez founded Whistler Travel and Tours in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, which mostly employs single mothers or women who are family breadwinners.  She is representing the Philippines at the 2023 AWE Indo-Pacific Women in Tech Summit at Taipei, Taiwan, on November 14-16.

For women entrepreneurs interested in joining AWE, follow American Spaces Philippines on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/amspacesph/ and Instagram @amspacesph for updates and additional information on the admission process.

Manila, May 19, 2023—The United States government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has successfully supported 500 Filipino out-of-school youth (OSY) to gain financial and entrepreneurial skills through a savings program.

Called the “Saving and Internal Lending Communities,” or SILC, these saving and lending groups are composed of out-of-school youth trained by USAID’s Opportunity 2.0 project and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) on technical-vocational skills as well as entrepreneurship.

USAID partnered with Catholic Relief Services Philippines to implement the savings and lending approach of SILC to give the youth essential skills in finance and business.  The youth work with their peers to pool their resources, save up for their needs, and have a support group as they venture into small enterprises.

USAID Philippines Director for Education Thomas LeBlanc said that these interventions “provide the out-of-school youth with a solid financial foundation so that they can work toward their dreams of pursuing further education, applying for jobs, or starting their own businesses.”

The youth, organized in five cities, have saved a total of Php620,000 since January 2021.  To date, these groups have loaned out Php320,000 to support education, training, livelihood, and other emergency needs of its youth members.  To celebrate the successful pilot, USAID hosted a learning event on May 9-10 in Cebu to look at the program implementation in the cities of Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Cotabato, and Quezon City.

As the host, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, who chairs the USAID-supported Youth Development Alliance in the city, acknowledged USAID as “a longtime partner in development” and thanked the program for “equipping the youth with the skills for us to be able to take on the challenges of the future.”

A youth member of a SILC group in Quezon City, Jerhom Trigosa, shared how the group used their funds to invest in a small business with local urban farmers.  “We learned how to rotate and grow our savings through entrepreneurship.  We took a loan from our group savings to invest and create pumpkin cookie samples.  We wanted to help farmers in the community and also increase their sales as well as to promote healthier eating options.”

USAID is looking to sustain and scale up this approach and content through a partnership with TESDA, which has used its local and community-based training institutions to support the youth groups across the country.