Filipino inventors get access to loans

MANILA, Philippines — State-owned Land Bank of the Philippines and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) launched recently a lending facility aimed to support Filipino inventors and technology developers in commercializing their patented products.

Landbank president and chief executive officer Alex Buenaventura said the Innovation and Technology (I-TECH) credit facility will open financing opportunities to Filipino inventors with active intellectual property rights and are endorsed by the DOST-Technology and Promotion Institute (DOST-TAPI).

“Landbank strongly believes in the Filipinos’ ingenuity, which is why through this program, the bank hopes to encourage and support Filipino inventors in the promotion and commercialization of their inventions,” Buenaventura said.

The I-TECH financing program is also open to enterprises duly authorized by inventors to adopt and commercialize their patented concepts. State universities and colleges, government agencies and local government units with active intellectual property rights endorsed by the DOST-TAPI may also tap the lending facility.

“DOST is very confident that this program will truly help our Filipino inventors because it is now easy for them to get funding for their inventions with the help of a very stable financial institution like Landbank,” DOST Secretary Fortunato Dela Peña said.

 The program was initiated in support of Republic Act 7459 or the Inventors and Invention Incentives Act of the Philippines, which calls for the provision of incentives to inventors and the protection of their exclusive intellectual property rights.

Under the program, DOST-TAPI will evaluate all loan applications and endorse them to Landbank for credit evaluation. Landbank and TAPI will co-finance up to 85 percent of the project cost, while the remaining 15 percent will be the borrower’s equity.

Landbank said Filipinos seeking the commercialization or production of their patented inventions that contribute to national development may apply for the I-TECH program.

The bank said these include products that enhance use of technology in agricultural and industrial areas, contribute to the improvement of the environment, result in increased productivity in primary industries, promote or increase Philippine exports, and other projects that fall under the DOST’s priority projects.