DTI focusing on development of innovation economy

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is developing enterprises in what it calls “Innovation Economy.”

For this purpose, the DTI is staging the National Summit on Startups and Innovation at the Philippine Trade Training Center on April 21-22.

Titled “Slingshot Philippines” with the theme “Accelerating the Philippine Innovation Economy,” the event kicks off national consultations for the crafting of policies and programs to develop a new breed of innovative enterprises, particularly in agriculture, biotechnology, electronics, and digital startups, among others.

“A Startup and Innovation Ecosystem Development Program of the DTI, Slingshot Philippines will serve as the platform to bring together innovators, investors (venture capitalists) and policymakers to create an enabling business environment for an innovation economy that has been rising in other parts of the world,” DTI Undersecretary Nora K. Terrado said.

Citing challenges faced by an innovator in bringing his brainchild to life, Terrado hailed the participation and support of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) for Slingshot Philippines and its attendees.

“The dialogue (Slingshot Philippines) is geared to generate the solutions to the challenges and fill up the gaps in the value chain that will make startups live on and thrive,” Terrado said.

Slingshot Philippines 2016 stemmed from the official startup event of the 2015 APEC Philippines hosting when the DTI’s Foreign Trade Service Corps. (FTSC) organized and staged the SlingshotMNL 2015 at the Philippine International Convention Center on July 6-7 as the technology conference for the high-growth developing economies in ASEAN.

“But this time, Slingshot will be staged by the FTSC and CITEM (Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions) during the Manila FAME April 2016 edition and under the banner of Design Week Philippines,” Terrado pointed out.

Slated at the main exhibit halls of the World Trade Center Metro Manila on April 21-24, Manila FAME is a bi-annual showcase of craftsmanship, design innovation, eco-sustainability, and artisanship in Philippine products, featuring finely selected furniture and home furnishings, holiday gifts and décor, and fashion accessories designed and crafted in the Philippines for the global market.

Manila FAME is the second longest-running trade show in the Asia Pacific, and the country’s only trade event approved by the Union des Foires Internationales, the global association of the exhibition industry.