Fabrication Laboratories

MSMEs are considered backbone of the Philippine economy. However, performance of MSMEs is constrained by various actors such as limited financial capacity, poor market information and lack of access to innovative techniques and advanced technology which hinder them to realize their full potential, break into bigger domestic or international markets, and grow in a highly competitive environment.

Collaborative programs involving the government and private sectors have been introduced to address these challenges. One of these programs is the Shared Service Facilities (SSF) Project which was launched by the Department of Trade and Industry in 2013 to address the gaps and bottlenecks in the value chain of priority industry clusters. SSF Project provides machinery, equipment, tools, systems, accessories and other auxiliary items, skills, and knowledge necessary to improve the quality of products and productivity of MSMEs, under a shared system.

Some of these facilities are fabrication laboratories (Fab Labs) which capacitate MSMEs towards invention and innovation hereby promoting new breeds of tech savvy MSMEs.

What is a Fab Lab?

A Fab Lab is a digital laboratory which grew out of an initiative by the Grassroots Invention Group and the Center for Bits and Atoms of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2001 to help grassroots communities translate their design ideas into physical forms with the help of technology. Many countries have followed this intervention and such type of facility is now present in about 200 locations in over 50 countries.

The first Fab Lab in the Philippines was established in Bohol to support local innovation and improve the competitiveness of micro, small and medium enterprises.

SSF Fab Labs became platforms for co-creation and academe-industry-government collaboration enabling MSMEs to develop new products, add value to existing ones and generate new streams of income. These facilities have likewise enabled the development of low-cost solutions to community challenges and needs. DTI’s Fab Labs are currently present in sixteen(16) regions providing support and enable DTI’s Inclusive Innovation-led Industrial (I3) Strategy in the countryside by making available facilities and tapping local experts in creating new innovations nationwide.