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Inclusive Filipinnovation and

Entrepreneurship key for Philippine
economic development

An announcement made by
the Philippine
Information Agency highlighted the how the Department of Trade and Industry
(DTI) and the Department
of Science and Technology (DOST) are looking into Filipino
innovation (Filipinnovation) as the strategic tool for the country’s economic
development.

Innovation is the key tool in changing and

improving the country’s industries, in producing more jobs and attracting more
investments in the Philippines according to DTI and DOST.

A public consultation entitled, “Gearing up

the Regions for Industry 4.0 – Regional Validation Workshop,” was held in Davao
City recently to present the strategies in implementing the Inclusive
Filipinnovation and Entrepreneurship Roadmap.

During the event, inputs and

recommendations on the newly-adopted industrial policy were gathered. It was
conducted by DTI’s Bureau of Trade and Industrial Policy Research (DTI-BTIPR)
in coordination with the regional offices of DTI and DOST.

Filipinnovation (Filipino Innovation) is a

project for entrepreneurs. Sec Lopez said, “Innovation is when you fix
something, even if it’s not broken. In entrepreneurship, continuous innovation
in products, processes, business model, is the only way to survive.”

The aforementioned roadmap was initiated in

2017 when DTI Secretary Ramon M. Lopez and DOST Secretary Fortunato T. dela
Peña signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) during the two-day Inclusive
Innovation Summit 2017.
To implement this, DTI created the
following programs to help entrepreneurs, they are:

(1)
Shared Service Facilities
(SSF), which is a machine-lending service to cooperatives.

(2)
Pondo para sa Pagbabago at
Pag-asenso (P3), which is a low-interest collateral-free loan program to MSMEs.

(3)
Kapatid Mentor ME program is a
coaching and mentoring approach where large corporations teach MSEs on different
aspects of business operations.

(4)
SME Roving Academy (SMERA) is a
continuous learning program for the development of MSMEs to become competitive
in the domestic and international markets.

(5)
Go Lokal, which is a project
that discovers and improves MSME products and helps them reach mainstream
markets.

(6)
Inclusive, Innovation-led,
Industrial strategy (i3s)—wherein the academe, industry, and government sectors
collaborate to solve business innovation challenges.

DOST, on their part, provides the following

services to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs):

(1)
Small Enterprise Technology
Upgrading Program (SET UP), which provides machines and technology training to
individuals or companies.

(2)
Science and Technology Expert
Volunteers’ Program (STEVPP) which allows Science and Technology experts to
provide free consultations and assistance to communities and cooperatives.

(3)
Testing and Calibration
services to ensure that products reach health and quality standards

(4)
Packaging and Labelling
assistance.

104 participants from different sectors

attended the event. Representatives from the national government agencies,
industry cluster communities, academic institutions, business groups, MSMEs,
and business start-ups participated in breakout sessions to identify constraints
and proposed actions.

DTI Assistant Secretary for Industry

Development and Trade Policy Group (IDTPG) Ms Rafaelita M. Aldaba led the
presentation of the Inclusive, Innovation Industrial strategy (i3s) framework.

The DTI-Board of Investments (BOI)

formulated the i3s framework. It is an industrial policy aimed at growing
innovative and globally-competitive manufacturing, agriculture and services
sectors while strengthening their linkages into the domestic and global value
chains.

Suggestions for government issues included implementing

reforms or projects that would improve the ease of access to funding for MSMEs.
Moreover, creation of an innovation governance body that would converge,
coordinate and oversee the innovation initiatives and related activities would
be ideal.

Establishing strong linkages between big

companies and small enterprises to improve the support capability and identify
domestic supply chains was the suggestion for industry issues.

As for the academe, it was recommended that

there should be an establishment of facilities in the universities where
students can develop or test their products and outputs before deploying it to
the market.
DTI-Davao Regional Director Maria Belenda
Q. Ambi said, “Through close coordination among government agencies and
effective policy implementation, we could harness the potential of more
Filipino innovators and entrepreneurs that will drive the country to a more
competitive positioning in the global economic arena and improve the quality of
life for all Filipinos.”