DOST to continue support of school based tech startups

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) will continue to support the growth and development of tech startups in the country especially those coming from higher educational institutions (HEIs) and state universities and colleges (SUCs) as it pursues the promotion of a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.

Science and Technology Secretary Fortunato dela Pena said that under their new TBI (Technology Business Incubator) 4.0 program, the DOST, through the DOST Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD) will help tech startups already being assisted by the DOST to network among fellow tech startups here and even with their foreign counterparts as they pursue projects at value adding and innovation.

“Through the DOST TBI 4.0 Program, we are currently levelling up our DOST TBIs to be at par with well-known foreign incubators and put the Philippines on the map in terms of services and startup support. We aim for global presence and offer our startups opportunities so they can scale and grow,” Dela Pena said.

Partners already on-board are Villgro Social Enterprise Ventures, Swinburne University, BCB Innovation PTE LTD., SPINOFF Acadasia PTE LTD., ThaiBISPA, and local partners Ideaspace and Spring Valley Tech Corp.

The DOST-PCIEERD, it was learned, is aiming for the “Internationalization” of Philippine TBIs, which in turn will result to the growth of globally-competitive tech startups and eventually full-fledged tech companies.

The program lead is QBO Innovation Hub in partnership with UPSCALE Innovation Hub of the University of the Philippines, CDO BITES of the University of Science and Technology in Southern Philippines, Ideya of Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology, Center for Technopreneurship and Innovation (CTI) of Batangas State University, GTBI of West Visayas State University, Animo Labs of the De La Salle University, and UPLB SIBOL or Startup Innovation and Business Opportunity Linkage Labs.