DAVAO CITY—The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) here matched 20 farmer organizations and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with start-ups to link the former to the various markets and open up avenues for bigger outside transactions.
The start-ups also benefited from the matching through direct linkage to their target markets, said DTI 11 Regional Director Maria Belenda Q. Ambi.
“This is a win-win situation as start-ups can directly pitch to users of their technologies, gather user feedback and connect with more clients from the industry,” Ambi added.
The DTI said the start-ups successfully matched with enterprises and farmers during the Innovation Summit 2022 include Mayani, a farm-to-table platform that sources produce from all over the Philippines for distribution to retail chains and households;
DeliverE, an all-in-one platform developed by Insight Supply Chain Solutions (InsightSCS) that directly link farmers to buyers and provide an integrated process for order consolidation, warehousing, and distribution; and AgriDOM, a technology-based firm that provides tools, gadgets, and software for agriculture, including drones for area mapping, spraying, and seed spreading.
Carlo Calimon, president of business incubator StartUp Village (SUV), also pitched technologies developed by its assisted start-ups such as Agrabah PH which provides logistics and market solutions to farmers and fisherfolks, and PearlPay, a fintech company offering end-to-end digital banking solutions, particularly for rural banks, farmers, fisherfolk, and micro enterprises.
All of the start-ups featured during the summit were onboard SUV’s Project MATCH initiative, a resource platform that links MSMEs with start-ups with appropriate technologies for digitalization.
The Project MATCH partnered with DTI Region 11 last year “to implement initiatives and projects that promote digitization and support MSME-Startup Development.”
“Collaborating with start-up enablers allows us to further promote the application of science, technology, and innovation (STI) among industries for them to be able to take advantage of market opportunities,” Ambi said.
She said DTI Secretary Alfredo Pascual earlier called on the agency to accelerate MSME innovation and digital transformation by linking them to start-ups that could help address their digital challenges.
The Innovation Summit 2022 was held on November 11 and 12 to enhance enterprise competitiveness and innovation in the region.
The summit included business matching, investment and partnership opportunities in the information and communications technology sector, available disruptive technologies from counterpart Asean countries, and start-up innovations readily accessible to MSMEs.
Ambi said the matching of farmers with start-ups opened the opportunity to link start-ups with enterprises and farmers “to address the gap in access to digitalization and technology upgrading vital in enhancing industry competitiveness, and broadening market opportunities in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).”
“The emergence of start-ups that provide innovative technologies to MSMEs, and the agri-sector enables firms to digitalize faster at a lesser cost than having to do it on their own. Transitioning to digital platforms and technology upgrading is necessary now in order to keep up with market demands and enhance competitiveness,” Ambi said.