Members of the ABINet gathered in Manila on December 17-18, 2018 for the “ASEAN Business Incubation Model Implementation: A Two-Day Workshop”— one of the key activities under the ASEAN-JAIF Project entitled “Promoting SME Competitiveness through ABINET”.
Organized by the ABINet and Palawan International Technology Business Incubator (PITBI), a joint initiative of the Department of Science and Technology- MIMAROPA (DOST- MIMAROPA), Palawan State University (PSU) and MAD Incubator of Malaysia, ten (10) Technology Business Incubators from the ASEAN member states (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) participated in the workshop and presented different business models including their best practices and challenges met in their respective TBIs. In her opening remarks, DOST-MIMAROPA Regional Director, Dr. Ma. Josefina P. Abilay was positive that the workshop would be a good venue for fruitful collaborations, “I am certain that this will serve as a platform for valuable insights and cooperation to pave the way for yet another milestone in our commitment to fortify ASEAN TBIs to support technopreneurship in the Southeast Asia.” Meanwhile, PSU President Dr. Ramon M. Docto emphasized that it is only when the technology is used to make people productive and eventually become economically better off that technology gains its importance and meaning. DOST Undersecretary Brenda L. Nazareth-Manzano delivered the inspirational message. She emphasized the importance of Technology Business Incubators to spur economic growth especially in developing countries like the Philippines. “To date, the DOST has established 20 TBIs and two (2) innovation hubs across the country which are mostly hosted by State Universities and Colleges including the Palawan State University. Various services such as technical assistance, intellectual property management and legal counseling services, analytical laboratory services, and business development and marketing assistance among others, are made available/provided for the incubatees.” As the ABINet Project Manager, Mr. I Wayan Dipta, who is also the Deputy Minister for the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs, discussed the five (5) strategic objectives of the project which are as follows: Adoption of ASEAN Business Incubation Model, development of the ASEAN Database on TBIs and their stakeholders, strengthening of the ABINet Resource Building, and development of the ABINet Sharing Community, leveraging the SME Competitiveness when entering the ASEAN Economic Community (Business Matching and Co-incubation Program), and creation and integration virtual platform to link the incubators and entrepreneurs across ASEAN Member States. Professor Hadi K. Purwadaria, ABINET Project Coordinator, emphasized the importance of creating the incubators’ own sustainable business model without relying too much on government funding. “It’s a good thing to have a supportive government but do not rely too much on this because government funds might be depleted”, Prof. Purwadaria stressed. The exchange of learnings and ideas among the delegates throughout the workshop will provide further opportunities across the TBIs to work together in addressing the gaps and challenges within their operations. The workshop will also be complemented with visits to DOST-assisted TBIs like De La Salle University (DLSU) Animo Labs and QBO Innovation Hub. Delegates of the workshop as they visit DLSU Animo Labs and QBO Innovation Hub—two of the DOST-assisted TBIs (Kathy Lyn Bolotaolo, DOST-MIMAROPA, Ma. Josefina P. Abilay, DOST-MIMAROPA, Rizaldy Bustamante, Palawan State University)
