Manila Bulletin
Philippines
P323 million set aside for innovative efforts geared towards helping the poor – Angara
Philippines
P323 million set aside for innovative efforts geared towards helping the poor – Angara
P323 million set aside for innovative efforts geared towards helping the poor – Angara
Published Jan 25, 2020 12:00 am
By Mario Casayuran
Congress has set aside P323 million for the implementation of the Innovation Act meant to fuel efforts to make Philippine products and services more competitive, particularly enterprises geared towards helping the poor.
Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara (Senator Sonny Angara Official Facebook Page / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Angara, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said the appropriation was provided under the 2020 P4.1 trillion General Appropriations Act (GAA or national budget) as seed money for the establishment of an innovation fund.
As mandated by Republic Act 11293, or the Philippine Innovation Act, an innovation fund would be established “to strengthen entrepreneurship and enterprises engaged in developing innovative solutions benefitting the poorest of the poor,’’ he explained.
The National Innovation Council (NIC), chaired by the President, is tasked to administer the fund and for the 2020 national budget, the P323 million fund is lodged under the Office of the Socioeconomic Planning Secretary, who serves as its vice chairperson.
Under the law, the Innovation Fund will be used for grants to qualified proposals upon the determination of the NIC.
“We encourage micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to explore ways to innovate their products and services. If you want to expand your market reach and make a niche in your respective industries, then innovation is the way to go,” Angara said.
Angara said that for many entrepreneurs, knowing where to begin when it comes to improving their products and services is definitely a challenge.
‘’This is among the objectives of the Philippine Innovation Act—to help find ways for MSMEs to improve competitiveness,” he added.
On top of the innovation fund, the law also requires all banking institutions to set aside at least four percent of their total loanable funds for innovation development credit.
RA 11293 was enacted into law on April 17, 2019 so this year would essentially be the first year of implementation.
The law encourages the creation of new ideas that have the potential to be developed into new and quality products, processes and services.
“If we are to provide a truly attractive value proposition to the world’s investors, we need to start investing more heavily in innovation. We need to build up our know-how, not only in research and development, but also in bringing new technological findings as quickly as we can to the market,” Angara said.
But more than building up the bottom lines of businesses, Angara said the Innovation Act seeks to improve the welfare of low-income and marginalized groups, primarily by creating opportunities for them.
RA 11293 puts particular emphasis on “inclusive innovation” wherein efforts to improve the quality of products, processes and services will ultimately result in the improvement of the quality of life of individuals and communities.
“As businesses grow so will its need for manpower and this means more jobs for the people. These MSMEs will become the drivers of growth, particularly for the local economies,” Angara pointed out.
Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara (Senator Sonny Angara Official Facebook Page / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Angara, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said the appropriation was provided under the 2020 P4.1 trillion General Appropriations Act (GAA or national budget) as seed money for the establishment of an innovation fund.
As mandated by Republic Act 11293, or the Philippine Innovation Act, an innovation fund would be established “to strengthen entrepreneurship and enterprises engaged in developing innovative solutions benefitting the poorest of the poor,’’ he explained.
The National Innovation Council (NIC), chaired by the President, is tasked to administer the fund and for the 2020 national budget, the P323 million fund is lodged under the Office of the Socioeconomic Planning Secretary, who serves as its vice chairperson.
Under the law, the Innovation Fund will be used for grants to qualified proposals upon the determination of the NIC.
“We encourage micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to explore ways to innovate their products and services. If you want to expand your market reach and make a niche in your respective industries, then innovation is the way to go,” Angara said.
Angara said that for many entrepreneurs, knowing where to begin when it comes to improving their products and services is definitely a challenge.
‘’This is among the objectives of the Philippine Innovation Act—to help find ways for MSMEs to improve competitiveness,” he added.
On top of the innovation fund, the law also requires all banking institutions to set aside at least four percent of their total loanable funds for innovation development credit.
RA 11293 was enacted into law on April 17, 2019 so this year would essentially be the first year of implementation.
The law encourages the creation of new ideas that have the potential to be developed into new and quality products, processes and services.
“If we are to provide a truly attractive value proposition to the world’s investors, we need to start investing more heavily in innovation. We need to build up our know-how, not only in research and development, but also in bringing new technological findings as quickly as we can to the market,” Angara said.
But more than building up the bottom lines of businesses, Angara said the Innovation Act seeks to improve the welfare of low-income and marginalized groups, primarily by creating opportunities for them.
RA 11293 puts particular emphasis on “inclusive innovation” wherein efforts to improve the quality of products, processes and services will ultimately result in the improvement of the quality of life of individuals and communities.
“As businesses grow so will its need for manpower and this means more jobs for the people. These MSMEs will become the drivers of growth, particularly for the local economies,” Angara pointed out.