By Daniel P. Tapaoan, Jr. 

Intensifying efforts to help develop business enterprises in the Ilocos region, the Mariano Marcos State University has kicked-off its Php 12.7-million-funded Bannuar Technology Business Incubator (TBI) project today, April 19.

Funded by Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Resources and Development (DOST-PCIEERD), the incubation program shall promote the use of technology in enterprise management and startups development in the province. 

A collaborative project of MMSU and DOST-PCIEERD, Bannuar TBI will also provide enterprise and skills development training, mentorship, and other forms of assistance for the business ventures of incubatees. The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) were also tapped to support the incubatees.

These activities were enshrined in a memorandum of agreement signed today by Dr. Nathaniel Alibuyog, MMSU vice president for research and extension; Dr. Teresita Tabaog, OIC regional director of DOST Region I; Engr. Rey Parnacio, OIC regional director of DICT Region I; and Ms. Amelia Galvez, OIC provincial director of DTI Ilocos Norte, in a program held at the MMSU Center for Flexible Learning.

MMSU also signed MOAs with the three business incubatees: Dr. Lawrence Eclarin, faculty member of the MMSU College of Arts and Sciences, for her Ilocandia Unli Weave Patterns; Ms. Ederlyn delos Santos, second year entrepreneurship student, for her Padalan Workshop; and, Mr. Mark Andrew dela Cruz, owner of V and G Integrated Learning Farm, for his Project Mango. 

“We hope Bannuar TBI will pave the way for the commercialization of developed technologies by our researchers, faculty, students, and communities,” said vice president Alibuyog.

Prof. Armie Sabugo, Bannuar TBI project leader, explained the project will particularly teach business incubatees on market validation, product development, preparation of business model and plan, networking and linkaging, intellectual property counseling and application, co-working space, fund sourcing, mentorship, and business registration. In turn, the incubatees will participate in activities to develop and commercialize their business ideas. 

For her part, DOST Regional Director Tabaog said that MMSU, being a home to TBI, has an advantage over other universities in terms of technopreneurship. She further expressed support to the project, citing TBIs have created jobs and increased employment in localities where it was established. 

Dr. Dionisio Bucao, university S&T Park director, hopes that the partnership will create dynamic ecosystem that fosters innovation, supports startups, and drives economic growth.

Thanking the agencies for their unwavering support, MMSU President Shirley C. Agrupis said, “By working together, we can help transform our economy and create new opportunities for growth and prosperity.” She also expressed gratitude to DOST-PCIEERD for making MMSU the first state university in Region I to establish its Higher Education Institution Readiness for Innovation and Technopreneurship (HEIRIT) TBI.

MMSU is one of the 15 higher education institutions in the country which received funding for the establishment and implementation of HEIRIT TBI last year. (HLY/JVBT, StratCom)