DOST-7 helps companies to improve operations

CEBU CITY — The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in Region 7 has helped some 300 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) since 2002 and continues to extend technological and innovation assistance to small businesses.

Regional Director Eriberto Paradela said he considered this as DOST-7’s biggest accomplishment for the Central Visayas region.

“Helping the MSMEs improve their products and operations and increase their productivity is the biggest contribution of DOST to the development of Central Visayas,” said Paradela on Tuesday during the launching of the 2017 Regional Science and Technology Week (RSTW) at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel.

Under the Small Enterprises Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP), Paradela said the DOST-7 was presently assisting a fashion accessories business in Minglanilla, Cebu and a furniture manufacturer in Bohol, to name a few.

He also boasts of the success of Sans Rival Cakes & Pastries, which has set up its first branch outside Dumaguete City in Cebu. Through the assistance of SETUP, Sans Rival is now at the Robinson’s Galleria Mall.

The DOST’s SETUP focuses on fashion accessory-making, handicrafts, furniture, food processing, ICT, and health and wellness services, among many other regional industries.

Joining Paradela at the RSTW launching were DOST Undersecretaries Rowena Guevara for Research and Development and Brenda Nazareth-Manzano for Regional Operations, Technology Application and Promotion Institute Director Edgar Garcia, Cebu Chamber of Commerce president Melanie Ng, and Cebu Business Month 2017 overall chairman Charles Kenneth Co.

Undersecretaries Guevarra and Manzano told the public about the various technology programs available for MSMEs. Among them was the DOST’s rent-to-own program, in which MSMEs can avail of the machinery and equipment needed for their businesses.

The three-day RSTW is part of the nationwide celebration of the National Science and Technology Week, which is aimed at “providing an opportunity to focus regional and national attention on the contribution of science and technology to national development and to give recognition and appreciation to outstanding accomplishments and personalities in science and technology.”

Activities lined up for the event are a Technology Transfer Day, Regional Invention Contests & Exhibits, technology and innovation conference, health research & innovation conference, and an exhibit of the DOST-7’s programs, projects, and services.

This year’s most outstanding SETUP adopters in the region, who will also give testimonials of their successes, will be likewise given due recognition in a fitting awards ceremony. (LBG/PNA)