DTI seeking $400 million loan for national innovation gateway

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is negotiating with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for a loan worth up to $400 million for the construction of a national innovation gateway, according to an official of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

“We’re looking at $200 million to $400 million,” Trade Undersecretary Rafaelita Aldaba told reporters.  

“And it’s not just going to be the Center for AI (artificial intelligence) research, but it will also include an industry 4.0 pilot factory. We will be building a national innovation gateway. So it’s going to have spaces for startups, as well as a sandbox,” Aldaba said.

She added that construction of the facility is targeted to begin by 2025.

Last month, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual shared the government’s plans for the national innovation gateway, which is set to house facilities geared toward innovation.

“The DTI Innovation Gateway in Manila will house fledgling startups and startup ecosystem players, offer one-stop government solutions for businesses, attract banks,   accelerators, incubators collaborating with tech startups for the next unicorns, foster collaboration with researchers and innovators for forward-thinking tech policies, among others,” Pascual said earlier.

He said the gateway would host a number of facilities, particularly an Industry 4.0 pilot factory, the National Center for AI Research and an MSME innovation academy, which will be a space for startups, financial intermediaries, enterprise tenants, and international collaborators.

In addition, the gateway will also serve as a one-stop shop for government solutions to business and investor concerns and will also be a space for academic institutions and think tanks for forward thinking education and tech policies.

Pascual said the establishment of the innovation gateway is among the projects included in the loan program the DTI is negotiating with the ADB called the Promoting Research and Innovation to Strengthen Transformation of Industries and Enterprises (PRISTINE) program.

The loan program covers three major pillars, namely improving innovation ecosystem for industries; establishing applied research and development (R&D), skills development, and innovation infrastructure; and enhancing capacity of DTI and industry-based institutions for innovation.

Pascual said the first pillar of the project aims to develop industry transformation maps for priority sectors, strengthen startup incubation and acceleration ecosystem, and support new technologies adoption/adaptation in key industries.

“For the second pillar, the project will establish the DTI National Innovation Gateway, housing advanced technology centers, and the Regional Innovation hubs featuring renewable energy, smart technologies for resilience, agriculture, e-mobility, etc,” he said.

Meanwhile, the third pillar aims to develop the country’s capacity for innovation by strengthening the institutional capacity of the DTI and selecting science, technology, and innovation-driven institutions to build a robust talent pool in industry 4.0 training and assessment, startup ecosystem operation, and S&T Park management.