April 29, 2025 – The City of Bacolod, through its Department of Local Economic Development and Investment Promotions (D-LEDIP) and in partnership with Thames International, conducted the Launching and Program Overview of the Innovation and Creative Entrepreneurship Capacity Building Program and the Senior High School E-Commerce Track last April 28 at the L’Fisher Hotel, Bacolod City.

Present during the event were Councilor Kalaw Puentevella, Thames International President and Co-founder Joel Santos, D-LEDIP Head Dr. Mae Llamas, Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines IP Rights Specialist II-Cluster Head for Visayas Marianne T. Bebit, Negros Museum Executive Director Tanya Lopez,

Department of Education – Division of Bacolod City (DepEd-Bacolod City) OIC Assistant Schools Division Superintendent Randolph Aleman, together with participants coming from the Creative Community, Academic Sector, and Tech Start-ups, including the Perf Lab, La Consolacion College – Bacolod (LCCB), University of St. La Salle (USLS), Technological University of the Philippines – Visayas (TUP-V), and the Department of Trade and Industry – Negros Occidental (DTI-Negros Occidental).

“This program is very important and very crucial, especially in our city today. We’ve seen the hardwork of our Bacolod Film Festival, something that we should really be proud of. We are so happy that we can see from the participation and cooperation from the different artists in our city”, Councilor Kalaw Puentevella remarked during his opening message.

The event aims to empower start-ups, entrepreneurs, and creative professionals through micro-credentialed training in Design Thinking, Human Resource Management, and Marketing, while providing insights on Intellectual Property Management. The Senior High School E-Commerce Track which was developed with DepEd, DTI, and Thames International with the purpose of nurturing digital skills and entrepreneurial mindsets among students was also officially launched.

Through this initiative, Bacolod City reaffirms its strong commitment to nurturing and advancing the creative industry for continued innovation and growth in the community.

Source – Bacolod City PIO