To remain competitive in business, innovation is the key. One small advancement can already have a major effect in one’s business to increase revenue and productivity. Thus, the Department of Trade and Industry Region 4-A realized the significance of innovation in propelling the micro, small, and medium enterprises forward.

To ignite innovation ecosystem in the CALABARZON region, the DTI 4-A established three Fabrication Laboratories (Fab Labs) last 2018:

1. Innovation, Design, Engineering, and Art (IDEA) Fab Lab

Cooperator: Antipolo Institute of Technology
Location: Sitio Cabading, Antipolo City, Rizal
Established: 27 November 2018

The IDEA Fab Lab, the first of its kind Fab Lab in CALABARZON with PhP 11.041 million worth of sophisticated equipment, includes the Building Information Modelling (BIM) software – an intelligent 3D model-based process. Not only a prototyping platform for innovation and invention of local manufacturers and designs, this will also serve the construction industry, specifically the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) professionals by providing the insight and tools to plan, design, construct, and manage buildings and infrastructure more efficiently.

2. Start-up Innovations and Business Opportunities Linkages (SIBOL) Labs

Cooperator: University of the Philippines – Los Baños
Location: University of the Philippines Center for Technology Transfer Entrepreneurship (UPLB CTTE) Building, Los Baños, Laguna
Established: 17 December 2018

The SIBOL Labs is one of the major components of the Technology Business Incubation (TBI) program of the UPLB-CTTE. Business incubators support budding entrepreneurs through diversified and personalized incubation services such as business mentoring and access to technical training sessions, research and development facilities, product development, market linkage, and finance. Establishing the Fab Lab can help MSMEs significantly in terms of product development by allowing them to work closely with both the academic and indusry experts for rapid prototyping as well as customer-centered product design. Such facility is relevant in the establishment of the innnovation ecosystem in Region IV-A to support robust technology-driven and globally-competitive MSMEs.

3. Learning, Innovation, Knowledge-Honing, and Art (LIKHA) Fab Lab

Cooperator: Batangas State University
Location: Brgy. Alangilan, Batangas City, Batangas
Established: 27 December 2018

The LIKHA Fab Lab is a Shared Service Facility where business enterprises engaged in top industries in the region such as furniture or furniture-related processes and electronics, can converge with modelers/designers to create and develop models/designs, and make prototypes for mass production. It is a digital fabrication that enables collaboration and promotes transparency among the designers and modelers aided by computer-controlled machines. Stored digital design using the sophisticated technology provides an array of services to help the whole furniture design and manufacturing team for detailed designs, analysis, documentation, and fabrication.

SSF is a program adopted to achieve the goal of the National Industry Cluster Capacity Enhancement Project (NICCEP), which is to set up common production centers for the micro, small, and medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in priority industry clusters to gain access to better technology and more sophisticated equipment to increase their competitiveness, consequently affecting their contribution to the national economy.

With the establishment of these Fab Labs, equipment and resources are made available to MSMEs of CALABARZON to ensure that the facility can help increase their productivity and lessen cost of prototyping and research and development of local products. These Fab Labs will also help inspire entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into new products and prototypes.

DTI 4-A encourages MSMEs, students, designers, artists, and other clients to visit these Fab Labs for the design, invention, and innovation of existing and new products.♦

Date of Release: 2 May 2019