By Kris Crismundo/PNA
MANILA — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has rolled out a PHP12-million fabrication laboratory (fablab) in the Caraga region to help proprietors of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) transform their creativity into tangible reality.
The fablab offers digital fabrication that will translate MSMEs’ creative ideas into prototypes for mass production.
It is expected to benefit various businesses in northeastern Mindanao, including those manufacturing gifts, decors and housewares, processed food, wood, creative, information and communications technology, metal, ceramics, as well as furniture.
Caraga State University will be managing the fablab, which is part of the Shared Service Facility (SSF) Program of DTI.
As of last August, a total of 2,249 SSFs were rolled out by the department amounting to PHP1.2 billion.
For Caraga alone, the DTI disbursed a total of PHP82.3 million worth of SSFs.
The SSF Program provides technology, machinery, equipment, tools, systems, skills, and knowledge under a shared system to MSMEs for them to improve the quantity and quality of their products so that their overall competitiveness can be enhanced.
