DAVAO CITY – Various micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are being linked up with academe experts to help them address business challenges.
A statement from the Department of Trade and Industry in Region 11 (DTI-11) said Thursday MSMEs are one of the hardest-hit by the pandemic, following lockdowns and restrictions that have been going on for almost a year.
To help businesses survive, DTI-11 said the Davao Regional Inclusive Innovation Center (RIIC) came up with the Innovation for Business Recovery (IBR) Plan project.
It said the IBR intends to come up with compact yet innovative strategic plans of action with the help of the identified academe experts, which the businesses can adopt in their operations to maximize chances of survival.
Maria Belenda Ambi, DTI-11 regional director said, the Davao RIIC is looking into the possibility of onboarding as many MSMEs in the project.
“The project is expected to pinpoint the MSMEs’ needs and provide innovative solutions to their problems with the help of subject matter experts from the academe. We are also considering its expansion by forging partnerships with more graduate schools in the region,” she said.
To date, she said the project works with the first batch of MSMEs such as the Healthy Sweets Mindanao Corporation, Malagos Foods, Nutricient Corporation, As & Rs Food Products, D' Farmer's Market, and King's Baked Foods.
Launched in December last year, IBR is handled by the RIIC member-agencies, which include the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Science and Technology, Commission on Higher Education, Department of Information and Communications Technology, and Philippine Information Agency.
The academic institutions involved in the project are the University of the Philippines–Mindanao Campus and Ateneo de Davao University.
The anchor private sector organization, on the other hand, is the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc., while the project partner is the United States Agency for International Development’s Science, Technology, Research and Innovation for Development. (PNA)
