31 March 2022, Seoul - The Philippine Embassy in Korea conducted the Promoting Entrepreneurship and Agribusiness for Filipinos in Korea, or PEAK-Pinoy webinar on "Business Opportunities in Mushroom Production and Weaving Sectors in the Philippines, featuring Region 6-Western Visayas" on 27 March 2022 online.

The activity is the 7th webinar held since PEAK-Pinoy was officially launched by the Embassy on 21 March 2021 as its flagship program in support of the national reintegration program for overseas Filipinos and Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). The Embassy's attached agencies, namely, the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC), the Philippine Agriculture Office (PAO), and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO)- OWWA in Seoul jointly implement the program under the one-country-team and in cooperation with Filipino community organizations in Korea.

In her opening message, Ambassador Theresa Dizon-De Vega welcomed the return of the PEAK-Pinoy series for 2022, and underscored the emerging importance of the mushroom production and weaving sectors in the growing economy of the Philippines. "We encourage our aspiring OFW entrepreneurs in South Korea to consider the information on business opportunities in these sectors which will be provided by our guest resource speakers from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Agriculture (DA), and the National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO) today. Through our PEAK-Pinoy webinars, the Embassy aims to continuously support your early preparation for reintegration and your decisions to invest in key sectors in your respective home-regions", Ambassador De Vega said. She lauded the enthusiastic participation of the attendees which include the regular PEAK-Pinoy participants as well as newly arrived workers.

During the webinar, Regional Director Remelyn Recoter of DA, Regional Director Rebecca Rascon of DTI, and Ms. Freyna Palad of the NRCO discussed Mushroom Business Opportunities and DA Support Services, the Western Visayas Weaving Industry, and New Initiatives on Reintegration Programs for OFWs, respectively. Successful stories of OFW-turned-entrepreneurs were also shared by the Barotac Mushroom Growers Association in Dumangas province and One Heart Farm located in Mindanao.

The first PEAK-Pinoy webinar for 2022, which was held in partnership with the Pinoy Investors in Korea (PINK) and the Filipino EPS Workers Association (FEWA), was attended via Zoom by 120 participants and viewed via the FB Page of POLO-Korea by 1,000 visitors before the end of March.

The public is invited to watch out for succeeding PEAK-Pinoy webinars during the year which will feature business opportunities for OFWs in the tourism sector and Mindanao regions. END