The Department of Science and Technology and the Filipino Inventors Society Producers Cooperative teamed up with the National Press Club to establish a store for Filipino inventions and innovations at NPC Building in Manila.
Science Secretary Fortunato dela Peña, FISPC president and chief executive Francisco Pagayon and newly-elected NPC president Rolando Gonzalo signed a memorandum of understanding for the OneStore hub at the NPC compound.
Other signatories were DOST Region 2 director and onestore.ph national program leader Sancho Mabborang; DOST National Capital Region director Jose Patalinjug III, DOST Region 1 director Armand Ganal, DOST Cordillera Administrative Region officer-in-charge Nancy Bantog and DOST Region 3 director Julius Caesar Sicat.
Dela Peña said the partnership with the inventors cooperative and the oldest organization of journalists would support the growth of micro, small to medium enterprises and help inventor-entrepreneurs sell their products to the public.
“With this partnership, the MSMEs assisted by the DOST and the inventor-entrepreneurs we help in developing their inventions and ideas will have another venue to showcase their products in the home of our country’s respected journalists,” Dela Peña said.
Gonzalo said the OneStore hub at the NPC complex would also allow MSMEs and inventor-entrepreneurs to introduce their products to NPC members who could write or feature them in their respective publications and broadcast agencies.
“It’s a win-win for everybody,” Gonzalo said.
The DOST earlier signed a partnership agreement with FISPC to open more OneStore hubs which showcase and sell Filipino products on brick-and-mortar stores to complement the electronic commerce site onestore.ph set up by the DOST.
Onestore.ph was conceptualized as an online platform for products of Filipino MSMEs that received technical and equipment assistance from the DOST under the Small Enterprise Upgrading Program.