The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has conferred SETUP PRAISE Awards to five micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) for their outstanding contributions and performance.
The awarding ceremony dubbed as “SETUP PRAISE Awards” was held during the second leg of the annual National Science and Technology Week (NSTW) celebration.
“We are glad that despite the pandemic, the majority of our assisted MSMEs continued with their operations, braving the limitations and challenges brought about by the new normal,” DOST Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña said in his message during the ceremony held on Tuesday, Nov. 23.
“What made us even prouder were their initiatives to give back to their communities through their products and services at the concept of the pandemic.”
The DOST said the top five finalists were chosen and the four runners up got awards under the following categories: Most Productive, Most Resilient, Most Agile, Most Innovative, and the National Winner.
It said for the first time, a special award— the Most Industry 4.0-Ready Award or the i-Ready Award was given for the MSME’s readiness and ability to adopt Industry 4.0 technologies in its operations.
Ideatechs Packaging Corporation, which is based in Malabon City, emerged as the 2021 National Winner.
"It develops paper-based packaging materials that are disposable, biodegradable, and highly recyclable. Moreover, through the DOST’s technological interventions, the firm was able to increase its product line, number of employees, and production capacity due to shifts - from manual to automated production,” the DOST said.
The firm has set up another two sales offices in Cebu and Cavite.
Known for promoting the Philippine medicinal plants for healthcare and manufacturing health products, Herbanext Laboratories, Inc. has been named as this year’s Most Agile MSME.
“One of its contributions is the company’s Herbanext Botanical Garden that promotes Philippine biodiversity conservation,” the DOST said.
VL Food Products bagged this year’s Most Productive MSME.
“With the DOST’s intervention, the company’s product line greatly increased from five variants of tuna products to 42 variants.”
“It also expanded its operation to include Halal R&D activities to improve the taste and flavor of their products thereby enabling it to export in other markets, especially to the Muslim community.”
Allen Stick and Trading was conferred the Most Innovative MSME. The firm is owned by Dr. Allen Salvatierra, a rural health doctor who invented the Allen Stick - measuring made easy and portable.
"Through the DOST’s assistance, its production increased and product quality has improved. This also paved the way for the company to develop new products.”
C and H Cosmetic Industry, on the other hand, got two SETUP Awards— Most Resilient MSME and the i-Ready Award.
“Starting with just P5,000 capital, the company has now upgraded to Industry 4.0,” the DOST said, citing the company applied for DOST-SETUP in 2014 and received numerous technological support for its product line such as soaps and beauty products.
"Amidst the pandemic, it was able to develop new products such as alcohol and sanitizer. Beating the odds, the company even expanded its market in many parts of Asia, UAE, Africa, North America, and Australia.”
The DOST said to qualify for the SETUP PRAISE Awards, MSMEs should have a SETUP iFund and have completely refunded the assistance to at least 85 percent without default, and have been declared by the DOST’s Regional Office as the SETUP PRAISE Regional Winner.
Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program or SETUP is one of the flagship programs of the DOST. It "was designed as a nationwide strategy to encourage and assist MSMEs and enable them to address their technical problems, streamline their operations, and improve productivity and efficiency, all by harnessing the power of science, technology, and innovation,” the DOST said.