The matching aims to enhance enterprise competitiveness and innovation in the region.
In a statement, DTI 11 Regional Director Maria Belenda Q. Ambi said the initiative is an opportunity to link startups with enterprises, and farmers to address the gap in access to digitalization and technology upgrading vital in enhancing industry competitiveness, and broadening market opportunities in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
“The emergence of startups that provide innovative technologies to MSMEs, and the agri-sector enables firms to digitalize faster at a lesser cost than having to do it on their own. Transitioning to digital platforms and technology upgrading is necessary now in order to keep up with market demands and enhance competitiveness,” she said.
The business matching was part of the two-day event that featured investment and partnership opportunities in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector, available disruptive technologies from counterpart ASEAN countries, and startup innovations readily accessible to MSMEs under the Innovation through Science, Technology, and Risk-resilient based Initiatives toward Knowledge Economy (iSTRIKE) Davao Regional Inclusive Innovation Center, and the Rural Agro-enterprise Partnership for Inclusive Development and Growth (RAPID Growth) project, among others.
Ambi said the startups also benefit from the matching through direct linkage to their target markets.
“This is a win-win situation as startups can directly pitch to users of their technologies, gather user feedback, and connect with more clients from the industry,” Ambi added.
Startups successfully matched with enterprises and farmers during the Innovation Summit 2022 include Mayani, a farm-to-table platform that sources produce from all over the Philippines for distribution to retail chains and households; DeliverE, an all-in-one platform developed by Insight Supply Chain Solutions (InsightSCS) that directly link farmers to buyers and provide an integrated process for order consolidation, warehousing, and distribution; and AgriDOM, a technology-based firm that provides tools, gadgets, and software for agriculture, including drones for area mapping, spraying, and seed spreading.
Carlo Calimon, president of business incubator StartUp Village (SUV), also pitched technologies developed by its assisted startups such as Agrabah PH which provides logistics and market solutions to farmers and fisherfolks, and PearlPay, a fintech company offering end-to-end digital banking solutions, particularly for rural banks, farmers, fisherfolk, and micro enterprises. All of the startups featured during the Summit are onboard SUV’s Project MATCH initiative, a resource platform that links MSMEs with startups with appropriate technologies for digitalization. Project MATCH partnered with DTI 11 in 2021 to implement initiatives and projects that promote digitization and support MSME-Startup Development.
“Collaborating with startup enablers allows us to further promote the application of science, technology, and innovation (STI) among industries for them to be able to take advantage of market opportunities arising from Industry 4.0 in response to DTI Secretary Alfredo Pascual’s call to accelerate MSME innovation and digital transformation by linking MSMEs with startups that could help address their digital challenges,” Ambi shared, referring to the partnership between DTI 11 and SUV.
Enterprises that are interested to match with startups can contact the DTI 11 through email at dti-xiro-idd@dti.gov.ph.