MABALACAT CITY — A total of 50 ambulant vendors in Mabalacat City benefitted from the P1 million worth of livelihood assistance given by Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) under its Negosyo sa Kariton (NegoKart) program.
Each beneficiary was given an enhanced or start up business kit, which they can use for their roving street food-vending businesses such as siopao, fishball, burger, fruit, and lutong ulam, among others.
Aside from the carts, all beneficiaries have undergone entrepreneurship development training on basic management and bookkeeping to ensure the proper management and sustainability of their Nego Karts.
In her message, DOLE Regional Director Zenaida Angara-Campita said the aid was sourced out from the agency’s Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program.
“We have been handing out DOLE Nego Karts since 2009. In Central Luzon, we have enabled many marginalized ambulant vendors and would-be entrepreneurs in transforming their enhanced or newly-built roving carts into sustainable forms of businesses,” Campita added.
For its part, the city government of Mabalacat provided a Php250,000 counterpart assistance in form of training, raw materials, and enrolment to social benefit schemes such as Social Security System and PhilHealth.
Aside from this, it also provided designated locations within the city for beneficiaries to sell their products to their target markets.
NegoKart Project is one of DOLE’s strategies to respond to unemployment problems by assisting ambulant vendors in enhancing their existing livelihood undertakings into more profitable and sustainable businesses. (CLJD/MJLS-PIA 3)