Five outstanding micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) received this year’s SETUP PRAISE Awards on the second day of the virtual celebration of the National Science and Technology Week (NSTW).

The top five finalists are determined and the four runners up receive awards under the following categories: Most Productive, Most Resilient, Most Agile, Most Innovative, and the National Winner. Plus, for the first time, a special award - the Most Industry 4.0-Ready Award or the i-Ready Award, was given to the MSME that displayed its readiness and the ability to adopt Industry 4.0 technologies in their operations.

Here are the winners of the 2021 SETUP PRAISE Awards for MSMEs, in no particular order:

Herbanext Laboratories, Inc. - named this year’s Most Agile MSME. Known for promoting the Philippine medicinal plants for healthcare and manufacturing health products through the DOST developed technologies. One of its contributions is the company’s Herbanext Botanical Garden that promotes Philippine biodiversity conservation;

VL Food Products - the 2021 the Most Productive MSME. Started with its humble beginnings but grew bigger because of its proprieties and innovation. With the DOST’s intervention, the company’s product line greatly increased from five variants of tuna products to 42 variants. It also expanded its operation to include Halal R&D activities to improve the taste and flavor of their products thereby enabling it to export in other markets, especially to the Muslim community;

Allen Stick and Trading - awarded as the Most Innovative MSME. Owned by Dr. Allen Salvatierra, a rural health doctor who invented the Allen Stick - measuring made easy and portable. Through the DOST’s assistance, its production increased and product quality has improved. This also paved the way for the company to develop new products;


Ideatechs Packaging Corporation - The 2021 National Winner. A company hailed from Potrero, Malabon City, indeed personifies its business mission. It develops paper-based packaging materials that are disposable, biodegradable, and highly recyclable. Moreover, through the DOST’s technological interventions, the firm was able to increase its product line, number of employees, and production capacity due to shifts - from manual to automated production. It also established another two sales offices in Cebu and Cavite; and,

C and H Cosmetic Industry – received the Most Resilient MSME and also bagged the first special award, the i-Ready Award. Starting with just P5,000.00 capital, the company has now upgraded to Industry 4.0. The company applied for DOST-SETUP in 2014 and received numerous technological supports for its product line - soaps and beauty products. Amidst the pandemic, it was able to develop new products such as alcohol and sanitizer. Beating the odds, the company even expanded its market in many parts of Asia, UAE, Africa, North America, and Australia.

“We are glad that despite the pandemic, the majority of our assisted MSMEs continued with their operations, braving the limitations and challenges brought about by the new normal,” DOST Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña said in his message to the public during the ceremony.

He added, “What made us even prouder were their initiatives to give back to their communities through their products and services at the concept of the pandemic.”

Among the DOST officials who graced the awarding ceremony were Undersecretary for Regional Operations Engr. Sancho A. Mabborang, DOST-NCR Regional Director Jose Patalinjug III, DOST-VIII Regional Director Ernesto Granada, and University of the Philippines Institute for Small-Scale Industries (UPISSI) Director, Prof. Melanie M. Moraga-Leano.

Meanwhile, to become one of the SETUP PRAISE Awardees, MSMEs should have a SETUP iFund and have completely refunded the assistance to at least 85 percent without default, and have been declared by the DOST’s Regional Office as the SETUP PRAISE Regional Winner.

Furthermore, here are the cash prizes given to other declared winners of the 2021 SETUP PRAISE Awards: P10,000.00 - Provincial Winner; P20,000.00 - Regional Winner; P50,000.00 - Finalists; and, P100,000.00 - National Winner, with a winners’ total prize of P180,000.00.

The 2021 National Science and Technology Week will run until 28 November 2021 with the theme, “Agham at Teknolohiya: Tugon sa Hamon ng Panahon”. To be updated, visit the NSTW website at http://nstw.dost.gov.ph/ . You can also follow the NSTW Facebook Page at https://web.facebook.com/nstwdost .

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