The Technology Resource Center (TRC) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is set for an all-out expansion of its “technopreneurship” programs.
In a recent round of talks with the media, TRC Director General Dennis L. Cunanan said the agency is intensifying its efforts to replicate the success of its techno-business incubator projects in UP, Diliman to the countryside. “As part of the pilot-testing stage, we shall begin preliminary implementation of the expanded program in at least three regions,” Cunanan said. They are namely in the regions of Bicol, MIMAROPA and Davao.
The OPEN-Technology Business Incubator (TBI) program was originally managed by TRC on behalf of the DOST and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA). It was targeted specifically for pioneering entrepreneurs dealing in the very promising yet uncharted, field of open-source communication and information technology (CIT). As part of the package, beneficiaries get to enjoy the institutional backing of the DOST and TRC, an ideal business space, as well as a suite of allied business consultancy services such as marketing, accounting, law, and the like.
Nearing its fourth year of operations, the OPEN-TBI is expecting its first batch of “graduates”. Seeing the program’s wholesale potential in developing a more dynamic and innovation-conscious entrepreneurial culture in the country, DOST Mario Montejo broached the idea of “migrating” the business incubator system to the countryside.
In order to properly do this, TRC has worked in close coordination with various DOST regional office heads and local government executives.
Part of this effort is the recently concluded conference hosted by TRC in the Club Filipino for managers of the Technology and Livelihood Development Centers (TLDC). About a hundred participants from various TLDCs all over the country took part in the event and shared their insights on how best to realize the community-based business incubator project, among others.
