Women technopreneurs will now find it easier to develop their start-up ideas and convert them into viable products or services through the Partners in Innovating Resilient Start-ups or PaIRS program initiated by Miriam College and the Department of Science and Technology-National Capital Region (DOST-NCR).
Coinciding with the launch was a virtual memorandum of agreement (MOA) signing ceremony represented by DOST-National Capital Region Director, Jose Patalinjug III, and Miriam College President, Amb. Laura Quiambao-del Rosario, held last June 28.
The PaIRS program is in support of the 2019 Innovative Startup Act that aims to strengthen, promote, and develop an innovative and entrepreneurial ecosystem and culture in the Philippines.
Full support for six months
AS early as September 2019, Miriam College established the MC-Technology Business Incubator (MC-TBI) with the DOST-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology, Research and Development to provide an ecosystem of support in technology and innovation management, especially for women entrepreneurs and women-led start-ups in the areas of education, job search, food, and well-being technology.
In particular, the program called āThe Nurseryā will help facilitate the development of start-up ventures in their early-stages. Incubatees will get full support for six months through capacity-building activities, mentoring, networking events, and, legalization and funding as they transition their business ideas into a minimum viable product.
āMore than commending [technopreneursā] courage, vision, and hope to help the country, we need to address the risks and uncertainties that come with starting a business. Thus, we recognize the ingenuity of Miriam College as it established a technology business incubator in Metro Manila to host and support our tech start-ups, and serve as springboard to jump-start their businesses,ā said Patalinjug III during the virtual signing ceremony.
Among the successful women-led start-ups supported by MC-TBI to date are Raketeer, an online platform that connects out-of-school youth and micro, small and medium enterprises with freelancers to enhance job offers/orders and transactions;
Puldiya, an initiative that gives Indigenous Youths sustainable job opportunities in Baguio City and nearby municipalities; and MATHayog, an AI-driven learning platform that determines the learning gaps in studentsā math skills and provides lessons and sound practices to help them improve their skills in the subject.
āWe are happy to be working with DOST on this program and we are ready to provide other resources, if needed, because we know that innovation and entrepreneurship are the way to economic development,ā said Amb. Quiambao-del Rosario. The MC-TBI is housed under the Miriam College-Henry Sy Sr. Innovation Center, which will provide the programs and services for the incubatees as they develop their start-ups.
Overcoming start-up roadblocks
For its part, DOST-NCR will serve as an advisor in the Innovation Advisory Council for Entrepreneurs, work with MC-TBI in co-developing programs and projects, and provide access to existing services for start-up and entrepreneurs.
With an ecosystem in place plus full government support through DOST, it is hoped that promising start-ups will overcome common roadblocks in research and development, intellectual property rights registration, and benefits and incentives access, giving them opportunities for travel grants, start-up venture funds, exchange programs, and training and workshop.
MC-TBI is now opening the call for applications for āThe Nurseryā Incubation Program Cohort 3. Deadline of submission is August 1, 2021. For more details, please visit their FB page @miriamcollegetbi or e-mail mcibanez@mc.edu.ph.